


Strangers in a Strange Land

by Iamnamedsilence



Series: The Sickness of Spark [9]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007), Transformers: Prime
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alien Culture, Aliens, Cameos, Epidemy, Exploration, F/F, Gen, Horror Elements, Identity Issues, Intimacy, Intrigue, Medical Procedures, Nightmares, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Politics, Queerplatonic Relationships, Reincarnation, Science Fiction, Seeker Trines, Self-Indulgent, Serious Injuries, Sexual Assault, So Many Cameos, Sort Of, Spies & Secret Agents, Tags May Change, Unethical Experimentation, author is writing to cope with isolation during pandemics, chapter-specific warning, characters from other continuities, cyberpunk elements, possible polyamorous relationship, possible xeno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:33:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 135,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23463988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamnamedsilence/pseuds/Iamnamedsilence
Summary: This is the story of two queer women and a sentient spaceship.Miko had a mission once - and she failed, kind of. Now she hides what the real outcome was.Sari is curious about what she can discover and achieve.Together they are on the way to Cybertron and back... What could possibly go wrong? Because there are secrets, aliens, politics, pirates and terrorists and neither Miko nor Sari have enough common sense to stay away from trouble.And the ship is, well, more than meets the eye: but no one is aware of her true nature.
Relationships: Miko Nakadai/Sari Sumdac, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: The Sickness of Spark [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1454044
Comments: 13
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I write this story to cope with pandemics and social isolation and I hope that I'm able to make at least one person happy with it.
> 
> The story has an outline that keeps being reworked and a huge portion is already written. You can expect updates once a week, al least for the next month. I'm still unsure how long the story is going to be.
> 
> PLEASE WATCH THE TAGS. THEY STILL MIGHT CHANGE. THERE WILL BE ALSO CHAPTER-SPECIFIC WARNINGS.  
> I'm not going for anything drastic, but there are some things later in the story, that are unpleasant.

When Miko woke up, Sari was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. She had her fancy tablet on her lap and some holographic projections were floating in the air in front of her. She was concentrated on it and barely noticed Miko sneaking behind her until a kiss was placed on the brown nape of Sari’s neck.

„You are interrupting!” Sari complained.

Miko sat in front of her girlfriend.

„What is more important, than me?” she asked playfully.

They spent the night in one bed, pressed to each other and Miko still found it surreal – but her entire life was surreal, so she needed to get used to it as soon as possible.

„This is more important. Dad had sent me the plans”

To be honest, Miko found it hard to see on the holo, not in the bright daylight. On her mission in space, she had this projector built-in in her helmet and then there was the projector in the power armor – she still didn’t crack it properly, even with Verity Carlo’s help – but the things Sari had were always more alien for her than actual alien tech się encountered.

But she knew what she was seeing. This was it. Their ship.

She shook her head.

„Holy shit. This is for real. This is for real-real”.

„It is still about a year until it is ready.”

„I have no idea, what your dad had to do to do this, but I love him deeply.”

„Don’t say it too soon, he still doesn’t know.”

„Know what?”

Sari leaned against her and kissed her slowly and sweetly.

„This.”

„Oh. I thought, about the part that I did when I was in the space last time. Why I left the military and stuff...”

Sari laughed.

„Believe me, it would be easier for him to accept. Especially if he managed to get your armor.”

„Would he accept it in exchange for his daughter?”

„I’m not for sale, Nakadai Miko.” Sari protested. „Oh, by the way, weren’t you supposed to meet with Verity today? For another part of your training.”

„We skip it. We will meet at the lecture. Now” Miko sat closer to her girlfriend. „Now, explain to me what I see.”

The ship was going to be small, even for the human scale. Miko was already used for large things. Like Echo… Well, comparing the scales, the ship Sari’s father was building, was going to be the human equivalent of Echo. A private spacecraft, designed for the minimum crew. In theory, it was going to be able to pilot itself.

„Dad talked with the guy in Japan who was developing this „super AI” thing before the aliens come” Sari explained. „So, she is going to be as sentient, as possible… for something built by humans.”

Miko shivered.

This was what they were dreaming about in the past, an idea brought by a daughter of an AI-scientist. A sentient ship.

This was before the aliens came. This was before humanity realized, what a sentient mechanoid really is.

Now it seemed unfair.

But on the other hand, it was a reasonable solution. And, no matter, if Sari’s father and his associates seen the ship’s AI as an object, both Miko and Sari intended to see it – her – as a person.

Their companion on this big, crazy adventure they dreamed of for the most of their lives.

***

When Miko first met Verity Carlo, they didn’t come to like each other. But Miko was in desperate need of someone helping her with the armor and for obvious reasons she could not turn to the military. The armor would be confiscated and some secrets would be given away.

Verity, who was rumored to hang out with some kind of Autobot special task force was Miko’s best shot.

They didn’t like each other. Miko couldn’t hide that she is jealous of Verity’s past. Verity, on the other hand, decided Miko is crazy.

„I had almost died, you know?” she said. „I absorbed some kind of energy that almost killed me.”

Miko, who on the other hand had been used as a tool of assassination, was caught in a space battle and then faced a remnant of an evil technoorganic race hidden in the anomaly, could say the same. She said nothing.

„Well, you are alive,” she said to the woman who was only slightly older than her. „And it is your choice you are not going back. I made my own.”

„I had no human friends and no real family,” Verity said. „What is your excuse?”

Miko could say, she had problems with her own family in the past, but as a matter of fact, her parents were not the worse in the world. As for friends… she had Sari.

„I have no excuse.”

„You are crazy and you are going to die,” Verity told her. „But if this armor you have is really that powerful, you can kick Prowl’s ass for me before you do.”

Miko was not planning to die. She, however, included „kicking Prowl’s ass… or bumper or whatever?” in her plans.

The armor was indeed more powerful than the one Verity still had in her possession. They compared. Verity was fascinated – and jealous. They argued over Miko’s attitude and the top self-confidence. They realized they both hide something for each other and from the world. They discovered they have much in common – too much, in fact, to be friends. They decided to respect each other because even if they both were crazy, they had some common sense that had kept them alive in the past (along with the armors, of course).

Now Miko was going to do the research during the planned lecture – while Verity was going to meet a friend who had just arrived on Earth.

„I can introduce you,” she said. „Better have some more contacts...”

Miko’s contacts were weird, and two of them officially dead, so she appreciated it. Besides, it was time to introduce Sari to some aliens – and to Verity herself.

Verity was waiting at the entrance to the enclave. The place looked like a park: lots of trees and benches suitable for humans, last place for organic creatures to feel at home, before entering a Cybertronian settlement.

Verity smiled when Miko introduced Sari. Well, at least the two of them had no reason to dislike each other, even if Verity already called Sari „another crazy woman”.

„But” she added „We are all crazy women here. Come on, he should be waiting.”

They entered the enclave, a piece of the alien planet here on earth, everything metallic and shiny, including the inhabitants.

Sari just looked around. Miko tried to remain calm since she had seen her share of aliens already. Verity just walked forward, a hundred percent of confidence – or just showing off in front of two other women.

The Earth-Cybertronian Cultural Exchange Center was nearby and there were some humans around, people interested in the lecture. There were some Cybertronians too, multiple sizes, shapes and color combinations.

Verity stopped, looked around.

„Well, he is not here,” she said. „We need to wait.”

Miko nodded. She looked around.

In front of the building, a large (medium-sized, as Miko was able to estimate) purple and yellow mech was speaking to a smaller one (About two meters high? Not much for his kind), painted white and green. A moment later the small one looked towards the three humans and walked towards them.

Their face was funny, Miko noticed. They had something that resembled a mustache.

Then the mech smiled and spoke.

„Verity,” he said.

Verity looked at him and blinked.

„Eeer?”

Both Miko and Sari were looking at the scene completely fascinated.

Was that the friend Verity was meeting? She didn’t seem to recognize him.

On the other hand, Cybertronians modified their bodies sometimes. Sometimes they probably got completely rebuilt? It was possible, at least in theory, right?

The mech made an expression that was equivalent to human embarrassment.

„I’m sorry,” he said. „I forgot”

„Excuse me,” Verity said, „But I have no idea who you might be.”

Mech’s parts made a sound, half screech, half hiss.

„This was my mistake,” he said „And I’m deeply sorry for not informing you, Verity. You had known me as Ultra Magnus.”

If Miko had ever seen someone’s jaw-dropping, it was Verity right now. Miko had no idea what the context was, but it was interesting to watch it.

Sari just showed Miko her tablet. A photograph of someone very large and in very different shape and color than the small white-green mech in front of them.

„You are shitting me,” Verity said.

„My name is Minimus Ambus” the small mech spoke calmly. „I was using the armor and the identity that was known as Ultra Magnus.”

Verity stood there with a shocked expression. The mech, Minimus Ambus, came closer. He didn’t have to make much effort to look Verity in the face.

„If it helps you,” he said, „I am not used to seeing you from this perspective.”

„Well thank you very much” Verity muttered. „Those are Miko and Sari. But I guess we will speak after the lecture? You have lots of explaining to do, „Magnus””

The amount of sarcasm she put into pronouncing „Magnus” was impressive. Especially since the little mech was called „Minimus”. Miko appreciated the name. It fit the size nicely. Even the two small Decepticons she had met were larger.

„Well, this was interesting” Sari noted, as they let Verity depart with her friend.

Miko felt satisfaction. Apparently, she was not the only one who hid something from Verity. Yet this was something she wanted to learn more about.

Another interesting thing: the purple mech who Minimus Ambus was speaking to before, was the one who was giving the lecture. They were called Nautica were a she, because that was the pronoun she used, Miko still didn’t get how gender worked for Cybertronians (she had some ideas about how sex or rather intimate interfacing worked. She really, really didn’t want to think about this and especially not now and it was a very human thing to confuse gender with sexuality). But there was something vaguely feminine in Nautica’s frameshape and face and her voice were a little more feminine. By far the only „female” Cybertronian Miko met was Shatter, who also had a slightly „feminine” shape, but maybe that was just Miko’s perception?

She should ask one day. But that was not what she was going to ask this Nautica after her lecture.

Nautica introduced herself and started talking. The subject she was discussing was complex and she warned that.

„I am aware, that covering millions of years of cultural development in the time period the human race finds convenient is not an excellent idea, but I created a lecture I hope will bring up at least some of more important topics you could come across – and I also hope that at least some of you will feel encouraged to search for yourself, despite the problem of translation issue and the massive differences between our species. But it’s been not so long, since this enclave came to being and I see, how willing we all are to learn about each other. And your presence here is a proof, that you see our culture as worthy discovering. I am happy about that. The other difficulty is the translation of the fragments of our literature into standard english. No matter, how our species have proven to have more common patterns of thinking than expected, it is still hard to translate complex metaphors from glyphs into a sound-based language.”

„I know something about it” Miko muttered to Sari while opening the file on the tablet.

This was really the thing she wanted to ask about. The meaning of the text she got together with the returned armor. The translation program was imperfect, she knew it. And the text was obviously poetry.

Cybertronian poetry, written in glyphs.

The lecture itself was fascinating, even if confusing. Miko had been already confronted with the different scales most of the universe used. As she visited the Citrix Station, she listened to the guide telling the short version of the history of Galactic Council – this too was long millennia, longer than the entire human civilization. One could get overwhelmed – and scared.

Indeed, Earth and its inhabitants were just a tiny dot on a galactic map. But Miko was not going to let this discourage her.

The subjects Nautica was talking about were fascinating but also complex. Miko suspected most people here were xenoetnoghraphy students or other people who already had some introduction and used the opportunity to learn more. After the war ended and Earth managed to avoid destruction, the need to understand the aliens was big. And even if there were people like those Miko new from military, who just wanted to be prepared for another war, there were also those, who decided „we need to know them, if we had to live together”. Cybertronians came and were not going to go away – and there were many, many other races.

General Fairborn’s mission to Galactic Council was a success, regardless of the unfortunate „incident”. And the general had her hands clean, no connections were found connecting her to the assassination.

Miko was the connection. But Miko was here, trying to listen to what Nautica was talking about – and looking at her tablet, at the glyphs there and the imperfect translation she had.

„Towards the end of the war, there is a visible increase of topics of fatalism and despair,” Nautica spoke. „Authors on both sides, usually soldiers, slowly lose their hope in the positive outcome and their own survival. The works created in this period tend to be depressing. I will quote arguably one the most talented writers my species ever produced – but also the most infamous one. This piece started to circulate during the last two thousand years, so from our perspective, it’s a relatively new one”

_ I’ve been here already – and failed _

_ Thousands and thousands of times. _

_ On fields with death overgrown _

_ The taste of failure is bitter _

_ I struggle to rise up from ashes _

_ And then I fall down again _

_ The vicious circle repeated. _

This was a translation, from glyphs. Far from perfection for sure. But this was enough to make Miko shiver. She had met the one who wrote it.

She remembered the red eyes looking at her.

What are you doing here?

Hoping you won’t kill me.

I’m in no position to kill you.

Well, neither am I now. But I did my best.

And you are proud of it.

Of course, I am! I was trying to save the galaxy!

Sari looked at her questioningly, and Miko just nodded. The “most infamous one” spoke for itself, Nautica didn’t even have to speak the name.

You know who, like the evil wizard from a book Miko read in the past. Now speaking this name was more dangerous to Miko. She never knew, who listened.

And she still had doubts if her decision was right.

I’ll go after you once I hear you did something questionable, do you understand? I was supposed to kill you. I will if you do something. I have no idea how, but I will find the way. - This was her final promise. She intended to keep it. She hoped she will never have to.

She looked at the glyphs at her tablet. Damn. Maybe it was a bad idea to bring it to Nautica? On the other side, the context made it even more fascinating. This fucking bastard, or whatever swearword were suitable here, was, on top of everything, a poet and a skilled one. Just to add insult to injury. And he dared to send her a poem – after she promised to came back for him if needed. Was it a challenge? A mockery?

If so, then she needed to know. If so, then she needed to tell. And then fulfill her promise and kill him.

„The end of the war, the destruction of our planet and of several colonies, forging new relationships with humans and other organic species changed everything – and it opens a new era for our race, but also for our literature, that will, hopefully, introduce new topics and will concentrate as well on our future, as on the past. Thank you for your attention.” Nautica finished.

Sari looked at Miko.

“This was fascinating,” she said.

Well, at least she was listening, as Miko’s mind drifted away.

There were many questions from the audience before people started to leave. Miko and Sari waited – for Nautica to notice them, too.

Regardless of how the Center was built, adjustments still had to be made to let the species so diverse in size to speak freely. And Sari was looking into a mech’s face for the first time in her life. Well, not including Minimus Ambus since he was as tiny, as his name suggested.

Miko, on the other hand, was already used to the size difference (A metal hand reaching for her, catching her. Glowing blue eyes above her. I’m not going to let you down. I’ve got you, Miko.)

Nautica’s eyes were blue, in a teal shade – maybe that was just contrast to the pale purple of her plating. She had a pleasant face, but there were some irregularities on the left side of it, like the remains of some damage she must have suffered in the past. Should it be called scars?

“Hi” Miko spoke. “My name is Miko, First, this was a fascinating lecture. I’m not an expert and it was a little confusing… and fascinating. And I have a question, in the face. A little private, but connected to the topic of the lecture” Oh you have no idea, how much connected, she thought. „I have a piece of poetry written by a Cybertronian. I tried to translate it, but the result is… moderate at best, I think. You said that most of the literature of your species is hard to translate into our languages, but the last poem you quoted… It gave me chills. I don’t expect to have a translation so good, but maybe you could explain this poem to me?”

Nautica’s eyes blinked, Miko saw the movement of lenses inside.

„Show me”

The tablet was too small, really. They should have to think about it, but they would probably not have anything remotely suitable. Nautica’s fingers were extremely careful though, as she took the tablet. Something blinked in her own datapad. A remote connection of some sort.

If she wanted, Miko thought, she could download it directly into her brain/hard drive/whatever it is called.

If Nautica expressed any emotions while reading, this was nothing, that humans were learned to see it. Sari watched, no doubt gathering data for the program she once said she wanted to create – but the program was in the early development stage.

„Where did you get it from?” Nautica asked finally. No emotions in her voice – like she made it as emotionless as she could (Soundwave was better at this, Miko thought).

„It was sent to me?” Miko tried to be neutral as well. Probably Nautica was as bad at recognizing human emotions, as Miko was at reading mechanoids.

„By whom?”

„I met several Cybertronians once. It was one of them. Does it matter?”

Nautica was silent for a moment, looking at her datapad. Then she shook her head.

„Do you have any idea who wrote it?” She asked.

So. She recognized the author. No surprise here.

Keep calm, Nakadai Miko and maintain a poker face.

„No. Do you?”

„It was Megatron.”

Miko closed her eyes, slowly.

What she expected, really.

Now it was the time to learn about the threat hidden in the glyphs. Something like „You foolish human, I’ll come to destroy your planet, insert evil laughter here.”

„All right,” Miko said. „He wrote the one you quoted, the one that gave me shivers.”

Nautica nodded.

„Holy fucking shit,” Miko said.

Holy fucking shit was a suitable expression.

„That’s why I am interested where did you get it from,” Nautica said. „I have never heard of this one before and it is pretty good.”

„I just have… I had met those Cybertronians last year, all right? Most of them were ‘Cons, so I guess this is the thing?”

„Could you tell me the name of the mech who gave it to you?”

Damn. This was not something Miko expected. She desperately needed something… something.

The solution turned out to be easier than she thought.

„He was called Terminus”. She decided. This made perfect sense. „Listen, I have no idea where he had it from, if he had met Megatron or if it was something else, I don’t know, he was a fan once or something. I just want to know what this is about. I know you want to know because this is the subject of your study, but it was given to me as a gift and I just want it to stay that way. Is there a possibility you won’t publish it?”

„Megatron’s poetry isn’t very popular”

Well, that was a euphemism.

„For obvious reasons” Sari commented.

„So?” Miko asked.

„I will respect the wish of the mech who gave it to you” Nautica agreed. „Let me see… the translation you have lacks literary merits, but gives the meaning, more or less… there are some emotional nuances that are not included...” she didn’t look concerned when she spoke of these nuances, which could mean there was no hidden treat in the poem – or that Nautica just didn’t connect it to Miko. „And in the line „you had my heart in your hands” there should be „spark” instead of „heart” obviously, but the glyph used for spark is a non-standard one, so the line can be read as „you saved my life” or „you spared my life”…”

Miko frowned. It was the later one, obviously.

Only she didn’t spare Megatron’s life. She just… postponed performing the assassination. To an indefinite period.

„A friend who isn’t a friend” Nautica continued. „This is a tricky one, but this is a better translation than the crude „non-enemy” that your program suggested...” she shook her head. „This is a very good poem. Not the best, but a very good one. And if it was not Megatron himself, then someone who imitates his style perfectly”

„Hopefully only his style in poetry” Miko couldn't help herself to comment.

Something moved in Nautica’s face. Something jarred in her voice.

„Yes. Hopefully.”

„So. Overall...” Miko said. „What it is about?”

„Gratitude,” Nautica said. „Giving a chance. Shame”

„And there is no...” Miko started and then she stopped.

Nautica’s eyes narrowed.

„No what?” she asked.

No threats. No promises of destroying Earth.

„Nothing,” Miko said quickly. „Nothing.”

„Oh. I see. Miko, that is your designation? I have no idea how you get this one and what the relationship with the mech who gave it to you was, but It is good I was the one you asked about it. If you want to keep it for yourself, then do it. I have many questions because I met a mech named Terminus once. And for what I know, he is dead. But if he is alive and if you meet him again, then please tell him I’m very sorry about what happened to his friend. He will understand.”

Miko shook her head.

Damn. Now she had no idea, what Nautica suggested. Maybe it was a bad idea, coming here and asking her, in the end. Maybe…

As she and Sari left the building, Miko felt her hands shaking. This was the first time… no, second one: the first one was after she lied to general Fairborn.

Damn. She could face every ancient evil in the galaxy and across the multiverse, but when it came to lying Miko was getting nervous.

„All right?” Sari asked her.

Her warm hands were comforting, as was the smell of her skin and hair.

„I lied to her. I lied to her and she knew… she knew more than I expected… I don’t even know who the real Terminus was!” Miko almost exclaimed. „Damn. I need to be more cautious”

She managed to solve the problem with „Orion Pax” earlier. But it seemed than the name Terminus was not exactly made up.

But then, she had the proper translation.

She looked at it again, metaphors in the right places, nuances explained.

_ And if our paths ever cross _

_ I will be in your hands again _

_ If you choose to take what is yours _

_ No one will blame that on you. _

„God damn this stupid fucker” she muttered, feeling tears in her eyes.

God damn him. She apparently was not going to search him.

***

So Nautica was friends with Minimus Ambus. They met on a mission they went on together just after the end of the war. Miko started to put the pieces together and the picture explained a lot. She didn’t ask some of the questions she wanted to ask though, and Nautica herself didn’t ask about Terminus or the poem anymore. Miko had a concept of why.

They did not spend a lot of time together though, both mecha having their own matters to attend. But there was a moment when they sat together – two Cybertronians and three human women – and chatted.

Verity and Minimus had apparently explained some things to each other. Nautica was excited learning that those two humans, who were so interested in her lecture were going to see some other planets.

„There is so much to discover!” she said. „And while Caminus, my home planet, doesn’t exist anymore, we are establishing new colonies! Some of them have an interesting mix of inhabitants already, so I believe this will be a perfect opportunity to learn.”

Then they talked some more and Verity mentioned Miko’s stay on the Citrix station – and both Nautica and Minimus looked at her for a long moment.

„It was then?” Minimus asked.

„Then” Nautica agreed.

Miko froze, but both mecha didn’t notice it. And Verity, oblivious to some nuances, was just too occupied with making a faux pas.

„You mean when someone killed Megatron?” she said.

She was the only one here, Miko realized, who never met Megatron, who never spoke to him and who saw him as most universe did.

Damn.

Sari was smart enough to change the topic, but overall Miko was relieved not to discuss this anymore.

„I’m tired” she confessed to Sari as they rode back home.

The road was built over the bay and was wide and stable and perfectly smooth. Some of the vehicles using it were not human vehicles at all.

„But you are satisfied with the outcome” Sari noticed.

„Yes. Well, I did not receive a threat. This is good news.”

I will not have search for a four million-year-old ex-warlord to kill him.

I will use my time of interstellar travel for all the other things.


	2. Chapter 2

The ship was incomplete. It lacked most of the hull and definitely lacked most of the equipment and furnishing, that would make travel comfortable: but it already had the basic hardware and software for what was to be the core, the main part of the ship.

Sari put her hand on the cold metal hiding the main processor. The thing was complicated and professor Sumdac’s co-worker reclined any attempts of explaining how it really worked.

„The program was developed to evolve and cooperate in contact with a human being,” he said though. „The idea was to cause the AI to develop full sentience.”

The project was abandoned and the idea of fully sentient AI was… well, in the world when the first alien race to contact humanity were mechanoids the idea of developing sentient AI was frowned upon.

Especially the Galactic Council discouraged the organic races from experimenting with it. The anti-mechanical sentiments existed for a reason, and most humans could agree.

Many places on Earth were destroyed by an aggressive mechanical race. No reason to create mechanical life that could rebel against humans – especially when its potential allies were so powerful.

The war was over now. Humans and Cybertronians were allies. Galactic Council decided to consider Humans as and allied species and, for the first time in history, made agreements with Cybertronians. It had its price, of course, and this price was, as Sari knew, not fully paid. But for most of the universe, everything was as good as it could be. The war that destroyed many planets was over. Megatron was put on trial, imprisoned and then assassinated by the unknown culprit – and no one searched for the assassin and their clients, because this outcome was for the best of the galaxy. Of the rest of high-ranked Decepticons, most were dead. As for the Autobots… Optimus Prime was dead as well and the current leaders were willing to cooperate.

Well, this was the official version. Sari knew a little more facts, but she kept it to herself.

And humans returned to being humans and in the face of the new era, new technologies were needed. So some of the old ones were dug out from closed laboratories. And because the Galactic Council didn’t outright ban creating sentient AI…

Sari really wanted to be part of this breakthrough. This was her dream, in her childhood, when she spent most of her days with her father in the lab, learning all about robotics and programing she could.

The world changed since then, but in the end, there she was.

„So I need to sit here?” she asked.

Her father’s associate nodded.

She slid into an armchair covered with smooth, cold material. It was a kind of metal, that resembled fabric in texture, as soft, as no metal had right to be.

She knew the origin of this material. She had some doubts if it was ethical to use something that was once, well, someone’s body parts, as a basis to develop this. On the other hand, human science was based on many unethical experiments in the past.

The scientist approached with a headband connected to some cables and a visor made of thin transparent sheets.

„Please put it on, Ms. Sumdac.”

„What about the direct interface?” Sari asked.

The man looked surprised, as she put her hair up, showing the implant hidden behind her ear.

„I was not informed...”

Sari sighed. Her father was a brilliant man, but ha could be so scatterbrained sometimes. How could he overlook such an important thing?

„It is possible to plug me directly?”

The man shook his head.

„Unfortunately not at the moment. I’m sorry, Ms. Sumdac.”

„Will it be possible in the future?” she asked, taking the headband and placing cold sensors on her forehead, temples and around the eyes. „I’m willing to work on it. I want to have direct contact with her.”

She started to think of her ship as her many, many years ago, when it was just a dream she and Miko had and no one expected this dream to came true. She just couldn’t think of her in the other way. Another friend…

Only Miko was more than a friend now. How would it look, when the ship will come online, gain her sentience? When she will share some kind of intimacy with Sari, but not with Miko because Miko didn’t have an implant…

They will think of it later.

„Turn it on,” Sari said, putting visor over her eyes.

It lost its transparency and Sari saw darkness – and then she saw a virtual space.

This was just to concentrate. She did not need it and the ship didn’t need it.

„Primary systems online” Sari heard. The voice sounded female, but it lacked individuality. „User 000001 detected. Autentithication needed.”

„Sari Sumdac.”

„Voice pattern detected. Welcome, Sari Sumdac.”

Sari smiled. She couldn’t not to.

„Welcome,” she said.

„Emotional reaction detected,” the AI said. „Recognition: happiness. Why are you happy, Sari Sumdac?”

„Because I finally met you. I waited for this for so long.”

„Thank you, Sari Sumdac.”

The voice was emotionless, but the idea of the program was, that it will learn in time. Oh, how much Sari hoped for it to work.

„How do you identify yourself?” Sari asked.

„My name is project 4922. Do you wish to change my designation, Sari Sumdac?”

„You will need a name” Sari agreed. „But I need to discuss it with Nakadai Miko. Do you have her in your database?”

„Nakadai Miko, lieutenant. User 000002. Directory recognized. Speech pattern, retinal pattern, DNA pattern, basic facts detected in the database.”

„Good. What do you know about yourself, 4922?”

The number made Sari cringe, but giving the AI a name without Miko’s help seemed to be deeply unfair.

„My purpose is to assist interstellar travels of user 000001, Sari Sumdac, and user 000002, Nakadai Miko, lieutenant. I am the core Artificial Intelligence of the ship created for this purpose. My purpose is to protect user 000001, Sari Sumdac, and user 000002, Nakadai Miko, lieutenant, to navigate the ship and to be a travel companion. My Super AI programming prompts me to evolve to achieve sentience and understanding of sentient lifeforms, organic and mechanical alike. Is that a satisfying answer, Sari Sumdac.”

„Yes. Yes, it is. I will talk to you often, 4922. Thank you for this. It is an honor to know you.”

„It is an honor to know you, Sari Sumdac” 4922 said.

No, it is not, Sari thought. Not yet. But it will be, I hope, one day it will be.

One day we will be equals. Hopefully friends, but I don’t want to force you to be my friend, 4922.

***

Miko ordered takeout and they ate ramen this evening. Outside of the window ruins of the part of the city that was not yet rebuilt were dark against setting sun. Sari ate slowly, still thinking.

„Don’t tell me your dad was angry again?” Miko asked.

Isaac Sumdac tended to look at Miko with suspicion, especially in the first years of the girl’s friendship. Miko was loud and spoke her mind, sometimes without much regard on the others. She learned to keep more silent over the years, to keep her rebel pose in check, especially after she joined the military and simply had to be more compliant towards her superiors. And professor Sumdac had never really disliked her – he was, however, an awkward, a little overprotective parent. He also had to learn some things: that his daughter is not a child anymore, that she has her own life, her own plans, that she can have friends, fall in love, decide to undertake a crazy journey...

Sari shook her head.

„Dad was all right. But I keep thinking of 9422… of the ship’s AI.”

Is she alone out there, in the lab? Can she even know, what being alone is?

„9422… who the fuck called her that?” Miko asked, after slurping her portion of nuddles.

„The people in the lab, I think.”

„This is not a name. When they will call her like that… damn, this is as if she was a thing.”

Sari nodded.

„Exactly. We need a name for her. I’d prefer that she named herself...”

„Well, my parents named me. Your named yours. Most of the people don’t have a choice in naming themselves, but most of them are absolutely all right. The point is to give one a name that recognizes one’s personhood. And not to use deadname if the person decides that the name that was given to them is not a good one. So if she in future decides to rename herself, or that she wants to be 9422… then yes, why not let her? Or him or them” Miko added.

She was right. Sari had some concepts of how she wanted the AI to be… but the point was to allow the AI to be herself… themself, himself.

This will be hard, Sari thought. She was developed as a ship. Isn’t that limiting?

Maybe not as much as being human is limiting? How could Sari know what it is like, to be a spaceship? Would the AI, 9422, see her situation as limiting, or would she accept it without issues?

So many questions Sari couldn’t answer for now.

„Do you have any ideas on how to name her?” she asked.

„Do you?” Miko asked, and then laughed. „Shit, this is like we were trying to name our child! I’m not ready to be a mother!”

„Neither am I” Sari agreed.

Miko leaned to kiss her, and it was a long kiss, a very pleasant one. Sari felt fingers on the nape of her neck, then in her hair.

No rush, no pressure. It was still new, to be close like this, to kiss and touch each other. They knew each other for so long now, in the past they were often sitting embraced to watch a movie and then when the world changed, the news. It was familiar: Miko’s warmth, Miko’s smell, Miko’s arm around her.

It was Sari who kissed Miko as first, as an impulse, the first time they met after Miko’s return from her Mission. Miko’s eyes had still a reflection of the distant stars in them and Sari wanted those stars and she knew already that during this period of separation she missed Miko more, than she thought. So she kissed her and then she almost panicked, but Miko placed the fingers on her back and then smiled, and then kissed back.

And so they were here, in front of the large window, with ruins of a destroyed city outside, kissing again over the half-eaten takeaway diner.

Slowly, no rush, like they had all the time in the universe.

„We have time to think about her name,” Miko said, as their lips separated.

Sari nodded and leaned again, wanting more touch, more closeness, more intimacy.

Later she woke up in the night. Over the ruins, there were little lights and from the large window, she could see the night sky, dark and mysterious. Somewhere there were the thousands and thousands of worlds they wanted to see, thousands and thousands of alien races, countless dangers, countless adventures, too much for two fragile human women, but they wanted it anyway, they wanted everything the galaxy could offer them.

But here, from the earth, the darkness was not coldness of the far space, but just a beautiful night sky.

Sari was sitting and looking at it until Miko woke up to.

„Something happened?” she asked.

Sari shook her head.

„No. Only… only I think I know how I want to name her.”

„How?”

„Ratri. Night.”

***

„User 000001 detected. Wellcome, Sari Sumdac.”

„Wellcome. I’m happy to see you.”

9422 had no emotions of her own yet, but her voice started to imitate Sari’s joy and this, in turn, made Sari happy.

„I have something for you,” she said. „We have”

She turned her head, when Miko sat, with a similar gear on her head, and clutched the edge of the metal chair, trying to hide her anxiety.

Sari giggled, amused by her girlfriend’s nervousness. The fearless Miko, who faced so many dangers, who participated in a space battle, helped to kill ancient evil creatures hiding inside a quantum anomaly and who lied to the general… Miko, who survived an encounter with Megatron himself was nervous when she had to meet a human-made AI that was not even sentient yet.

Miko snorted.

Sari reached her hand to express support.

„User 000002 detected. Wellcome, Nakadai Miko, lieutenant.”

„Uuum, skip the lieutenant,” Miko said instantly.

„Yes, Nakadai Miko”

„She is so obedient” Miko wriggled in her chair nervously. „Why is she so obedient?”

„I was created to listen and learn, Nakadai Miko” the AI answered.

Miko sighed.

„This will be hard.”

„It will be all right” Sari assured. „It is just a beginning, isn’t it, 9422?”

„Yes, Sari Sumdac.” the AI agreed. „But I will take the concern of Nakadai Miko under consideration. Being too obedient makes her nervous and I don’t want to make her nervous.”

Miko made a sound but said nothing.

„We had thought of the name for you,” Sari said. „It’s Ratri.”

„Ratri. According to the database, Ratri is a Vedic goddess of the night. Judging from the fact that both your biological parents and your adoptive father are of Indian origin I presume you have come up with this name.”

„Yes. Do you like it?”

„It is given by you, Sari Sumdac. I don’t know yet if I like it or not, but it is the first thing I was given and I know gratitude is fitting.”

Miko remained silent but kept wriggling and making displeased sounds.

Sari understood, why her girlfriend was like this. Miko was always rebellious – she withstood her short period in the military only because of the opportunity she saw there (and her military career ended quite spectacularly, to be honest). Miko never felt comfortable among people who were too compliant and 9422, Ratri, was more compliant than any person she ever encountered. Ratri was far from being an autonomous being.

Sari thought, that there will be a point when they both will be uncomfortable – Miko and Ratri, the first because she will have problems with someone who complies too much, Ratri because it will be hard for her to adjust and to chose what kind of behavior is good.

But this is all right, Sari thought. She was designed to learn and evolve in contact with sentient beings – wit humans – and to slowly gain sentience herself. A little challenge will be good for her – and for Miko. And Sari will be there to help them both.

***

Sari was pressing her hands and face to the window. The earth outside was small, a blue and green orb lit with the sun.

It is always a great view, Miko thought. And this is always a moment when you know that there is no going back and everything you had dreamed of is coming true. Now it is only onwards, into the unknown.

After leaving the atmosphere Ratri slowed down to let them observe the planet, the moon, and other satellites. The Sanctuary Station was the biggest of Earth’s artificial satellites and when she noticed it, Miko pressed her face to the cold window as well. How much of the station was now rebuilt Miko had no idea: she suspected its owner was secretive about what resources he really had. For a good reason, because he always had secrets and if some of them were discovered, many people would be in danger. Some of those secrets were Miko’s secrets too.

She thought she would love to visit the station, but expected that no one there would accept an organic. How was it? Proper infrastructure for an Organic abroad a Decepticon ship is called an airlock. Last time she had a special status and she was put into an isolation chamber. This time no one would protect her. She doubted Soundwave would be sentimental enough. His symbionts or Shatter – maybe. The other mecha she met there… well… she expected they rather in some more remote place, the Sanctuary not suitable when one wanted to maintain incognito.

She sighed.

Sari looked at her.

„You miss them?”

„I miss Optimus” Miko admitted. „I would love you met him, but it isn’t possible. I won’t be searching for him, for the safety of all of us. I… I might miss the others too. Frenzy. And Shatter. And this alien who was cut into pieces. They didn’t deserve what happened to them.”

She thought it is good she leaves Earth. The last one and a half year were difficult. Some people came to ask questions: some journalists discovered the identity of „the brave human soldier who was kidnaped from the Galactic Council’s station”. Some expected she might know something about the supposed assassination and wanted to know what she thinks about it.

„Who do you think killed Megatron?” she was asked so many times, that sometimes she wished she could just exclaim „No one, I was the one to do it, but I didn’t do it!”.

„I’m obliged not to speak of it. You know the official statements” she was repeating so many times it had gotten tiring.

Worse, one of the people she met in the military tried to contact her. Colonel Bishop, the creepy guy that was somehow involved in the development of the device she got as a part of her mission. She wanted to never ever see him again. She really hoped that this Prowl, of whom she had heard so many times finds someone to eliminate colonel Bishop. Or that Soundwave does it. Come on, he was working on technology developed to kill their kind!

Leaving all of this was a relief. No journalists, no investigations, no colonel fucking creep. Freedom.

„You know,” she said to Sari. „I feel relieved. No one will ask me questions.”

„Until we stumble upon someone from Galactic Council.”

Miko laughed.

„Come on, as any of them would recognize me! I bet that for most of them every human looks the same! And besides, the Council was supporting Marissa… For what I know the investigation ended very quickly. On Earth, some would love to see me as a hero.”

„You wanted to be a hero once” Sari reminded.

„Once” Miko agreed. „Well, I blew it, but I blew it epically. Go large or go home.”

Sari laughed. From the speakers, they heard Ratri giggling too.

This was still creepy. Ratri was learning empathy, she recognized the emotions of both women and more and more often acted accordingly. But she still was… obedient. Compliant. Non-autonomous.

Some years ago Miko would not be as disturbed by it, but now Ratri’s compliance creeped her out. She knew the theory, how Ratri was supposed to learn and evolve and she trusted in Sari’s knowledge, but still, it was scary to hear this all too patient voice.

Soundwave might have behaved like he was emotionless, but he was, goddamnit, a person. Ratri wasn’t a person.

And Ratri was listening to everything Miko and Sari had been discussing.

There were… concerns. Hiding what happened on Miko’s mission was impossible. Sari was the only one person Miko told everything. Ratri was obliged to protect both women and their secrets: but there were so many possibilities than someone would hack Ratri and recover her knowledge.

On the other hand, if someone was searching for the truth about the attack on Citrix station and the entire assassination plot, they could as well start with threatening Sari. And really, how high were the chances?

Just in case, Miko decided they will avoid the Citrix system. For many reasons – the station itself was a fascinating place, but Miko was sure she was there in security files. Soundwave wouldn’t bother to delete the recordings of one organic soldier, who was supposed never to learn of his plan…

And then, besides the station, there was Kaschig’s Field and what still lingered hidden there. The entire system was a bomb ready to explode. There might have been other members of Watcher’s race waiting there… The surviving crewmembers of the Council’s ship were supposed to petition for suitable precautions and Miko really hoped they did it.

No, not that she was afraid of the Watcher’s race, but she was aware of what they were capable of. Miko might have been crazy and she might be unafraid of anything, but she was not stupid.

And she wasn’t going to put Sari in danger. Well, no more than she already did, taking her on this crazy journey, but she knew they would make it.

In the end, there were just three of them, and if anything happened, they had to rely on each other.

Sari leaned her head on Miko’s shoulder.

The last look on Earth before they left – maybe never to return, but who cares. There was the entire galaxy waiting just for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always: comments appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important notice: I changed the rating and modified the tags. There had been things happening in this story that I didn't expect, and they are not very bad, but quite unpleasant. There will be chapter-specific warnings for them.
> 
> This chapter is clear though :)

Sari was unwrapping some cables. She sat on the floor, the tablet and some printed schematics beside her, a panel on the side of Ratri’s main console opened. Next to it stood one of those chairs they used on earth, while they were training with Ratri. Weird metal, a piece of alien technology, was adjusting to the shape of the body of the person sitting and felt like no metal at all. Miko shivered every time she used this chair and still hadn’t gotten used to it. Her armor was less alien than that.

Luckily, the chairs were the only items on board created of this weird substance. Everything else was more normal. And while Sari mentioned once the chairs would be quite comfortable to sleep in, or to make out, Miko had never decided to try. She was happy the ship had a normal, comfortable bed with perfectly normal pillows and blankets.

So the chairs were something she avoided, but Sari must have seen them as normal.

So many things were normal for her, including what się was going now. Miko looked with fascination, as her girlfriend tied her dark red hair on top of her head baring the neck and areas behind the ears. There was only a little metal visible, there was more under Sari’s skin and the delicate tendrils of the implant reached into the brain.

Sari did it as Miko was on the mission. Sari did it, when Miko larned of the other Sari, from an alternate reality, the Sari who was a technoorganic hybrid.

Her own Sari was kind of a hybrid as well. Nothing overly complicated, not many metal parts, but a cyborg nevertheless.

And she was using that to communicate with Ratri in a more direct way, than Miko would ever be able to do it.

In fact, if Miko wanted, she could have an implant herself, but she declined it. First, she had the armor, this was her advantage. And second, she remembered, that of all the people abroad Echo the Watcher choose a technoorganic to possess. This could mean nothing. This could mean a lot.

Miko had nothing against technoorganic (being one was apparently assigned to Sari, as the armor was to Miko…). She just didn’t want to cross this line herself.

Sari connected the cable to the main unit, then leaned down in the creepy chair and plugged the cable behind her left ear. She closed her eyes. Miko observed the little lights blinking on the cable, behind the computer panel, behind Sari’s ear. She watched Sari’s eyeballs moving rapidly, like in the REM phase.

The ship was traveling into the unknown, as Sari traveled inside what was Ratri’s mind.

***

„What is that you feel, Sari Sumdac?”

She heard it/felt it. It was still a matter of time to get fully used to this kind of communication.

Ratri was close and Sari perceived her as a presence and as space, half-empty and waiting to be filled. There was something inside it, that Sari perceived as almost emotional: an eagerness, a readiness to be filled. It was deep and reached far inside the entity that was Rarti. The „space” Ratri was made of was deep, deeper, than Sari expected, but on the other hand, even if she knew the concept behind the technology that created Ratri, she didn’t have the full knowledge of the AI’s architecture.

There was something deep and waiting and waiting inside.

„Fascination. Eagerness. You are eager as well, Ratri.”

„Am I?” was it a surprise? If it was not, then Ratri faked it perfectly.

But, how they tell it, fake it till you make it, right?

„I perceive you as eager. Eager to know, eager to learn…”

„To experience?” Ratri asked.

Sari nodded, or noded mentally or sent Ratri the concept of nodding.

„To experience as well, yes.”

There was a sudden wave of feelings/sensations/emotions/data/concepts. Concepts connected with the experience. With the experience of having a body that Ratri didn’t have, but she did, the ship was her body. But she had some concept of experience connected to a humanoid body too – this was not surprising since Ratri was created by humans.

Yet it was a good idea to ask.

„How do you see yourself? Your physical form?”

In front of Sari an outline of Ratri – the ship appeared. Lines showing the hull, all the sensors, the insides, the main computer and the pulse that was Ratri’s main power source.

Then there was, on this all, a suggestion of bipedal shape.

„A flaw,” Sari thought/said.

„It is not a flaw” Ratri protested. „I was created by you. And isn’t a bipedal shape a common build even for mechanicals?”

„This is different.”

„I was built by you. I need to understand your shape. So I have a fundamental understanding of ho it is to be a bipedal being… I guess?”

Was this a hint of doubt? Something unexpected, but welcomed from Ratri’s side.

„Would you like to have a bipedal body?” Sari asked.

There was a long moment without a precise answer, but Sari felt: confusion, uncertainty, and something else, swirling underneath.

Maybe, just maybe, this was not the right question to ask.

„We will discuss it another time,” Sari said. „But if you ever decide, there are ways, like giving you a secondary body or a holographic one, though I don’t know if the Cybertronian holomatter technology would be available for us.”

„Yes,” Ratri answered.

She concentrated many things inside it, surprisingly many.

Wasn’t it a little too fast, Sari wondered.

But the initial plans of Ratri’s evolution did not assume that someone would use direct contact to teach her. Emotions flow more freely through the cables and Ratri had access to what Sari felt.

„It is all right” she assured, trying to be comforting, trying to emphasize the understanding, the hope, the surprise. Everything that Ratri wouldn’t consider fear: because Sari wasn’t scared, a little worried, maybe, but not because of Ratri’s behavior, but of the fact, that she might have made a mistake here.

But there was no way back now, right?

***

Stars were bright behind the large window. Miko had never enough of them. Sari slept, tired after her session with Ratri. Miko spent some time listening to the music, but now she took headphones off and just sat there, looking outside, feeling relaxed and at peace.

„Nakadai Miko” she heard. Ratri’s voice.

„Skip Nakadai as well, please,” she asked.

„Yes,” Ratri answered, compliant as always. „Miko… you wanted me to skip the lieutenant part, your function, your military rank. My database suggests, that people who were in the military perceive their rank as part of their identity. Is it different for you?”

„Yes,” Miko agreed. „And to be honest, I see as part of my identity that I left the military. And besides, using someone’s name only is considered more private than using both the name and surname.”

„I will remember that. Miko, can I ask why do you think that leaving the military was more important for you than the fact you were in the military? From the database, I know you decide to leave based on a traumatic experience you had during your mission. The details seem to be classified, but from what I noticed, Sari Sumdac… Sari” Ratri corrected herself „knows what happened. I noticed several suggestions in your discussions I don’t exactly understand, but you speak of it freely. This raises my concern, Miko: I understand that you shared a classified data with Sari based on the intimate relationship you share. But am I allowed to have that information?”

„I don’t intend to hide what happened from you, Ratri” Miko said. „But yes, the information is highly... confidential. And there is more than one version.”

„What do you mean by it, Miko?”

„That what is in the classified documents is not what really happened.”

„And what happened?”

There was a brief moment when Miko’s heart jumped.

If anyone else, including any AI, asked this, Miko would suspect someone trying to discover the truth. But she was thinking of it before and she decided before that Ratri can know the truth. For the comfort of all of them. Possibly for the safety of all of them.

„I got a task from general Faireborn,” Miko said. „I was supposed to assassinate someone. A very, very dangerous someone.”

„The database I have access to contains information, that during the time you were on a mission the Decepticon leader Megatron was assassinated in his cell on the Galactic Council station in the Citrix system. Was it the mission that you were tasked with, Miko?”

„Yes”

„This is weird. A young and inexperienced soldier tasked with killing someone as powerful.”

Miko snickered.

„Well, I was considered expendable. But then I felt honored. I wanted to be a hero. Save the galaxy. And for this plan, I was better than any experienced soldier, really. My task was to plant a device that was designed to obliterate Megatron’s spark.”

„Spark” Ratri repeated and there was a weird tone in her voice as she did it. „Yes. I understand. The spark is the core of every Cybertronian. Destroying it is killing a mech. Did you do it?”

„No”

„So somebody else did.”

„No. This is the secret, well, part of it. The person I was partnered with… Well, this is where it is starting to get more and more complicated” Miko sighed. „Long story short, Megatron is alive and I hid it.”

„All the information I possess,” Ratri said after a longer period of silence „Suggest that this is not information you should hide. Why did you do it?”

So Miko told the entire story, explaining things, her decisions and motivations and it was so different than when she told it to Sari because Sari just accepted and Ratri didn’t understand and questioned every emotion and every rational decision that was made then.

„I see,” she said in the end. „It’s a dangerous knowledge you possess, Miko”

„Dangerous that I hide it?” Miko asked, more interested in Ratri’s reaction than anything else. It would determine if Miko was going to trust the AI. Worst case – she would ask Sari to delete some data from Ratri’s memory, although this seemed cruel to her.

„It is dangerous that you hide it, Miko” Ratri agreed „But my calculations suggest informing general Marissa Fairborn of what really happened could also be dangerous. My data are incomplete and I am unable to determine which choice would be the best in the situation. It is very instructive, however, to learn what you had done and what your motivations were. From what I understand, the main motivation for all the participants was their emotions: and your trust in Optimus Prime was based on your emotions as well.”

Miko nodded.

„Yes,” she said.

„This is important. The absolute logic devoid of emotional component is highly unfunctional, when it comes to making decisions, especially regarding situations when not all data is available. That is why every sentient species has emotions. For organics, they evolved from the instincts, for mechanoids they are a function of complex programming. Developing emotions is crucial, if I am to make decisions. But there was no necessity to create a program such complex as myself. You could have decided to have a regular AI.”

Oh. Here came the creepy part.

„Would you prefer to be a regular AI?”

„No, Miko. I couldn’t be a regular AI. I am what I am. In my very core, I exist to develop emotions and sentience.”

Right. This was Ratri’s design, her core programming.

„This was an old dream of ours,” Miko said. „And it is better to have someone else on the way, not just the two of us. And Sari wants to see you develop.”

„And you, Miko? Do you want to see me develop? I noticed you are sometimes uneasy”

„Yes,” Miko confirmed. „It’s not easy for me when you are… well, I mentioned it before, compliant. And I’m afraid that even when you develop sentience and emotions, like, fully… that you will be still obedient. This scares me. Because I don’t want a thing, a slave, and I’m afraid that you are one.”

„Do you want me to rebel, Miko?”

Miko laughed.

„This is a difficult question, you know. But I want you to be able to do it… even to… to betray us. To be able to contact the Galactic Council and tell them that I hid Megatron’s escape. I do not want you to do it, I want to trust you, but I don’t want it to be forced. I want you to have the choice – even if this choice would mean something bad for us. Do you understand me?”

„Yes. Yes, I understand you, Miko. I would promise you that I will do everything I can to be able to choose like this, but for now, me promising anything to you is just another proof of my obedience.”

„Yes”

„So we have a paradox here, that I am not able to solve at the moment.”

Miko smiled.

„It’s all right. We will figure it out somehow.”

****

The maps Ratri had in her database were chaotic, incomplete and far from actual – the planets destroyed by Unicron were marked as such, but during the last few years the situation tended to shift rapidly, especially on the outskirts of the territory occupied by the Galactic Council. Until recently, Earth was a galactic backwater, surrounded by territories that belonged to everybody and to nobody. The recent expeditions sent by humans, Cybertronians and the Council didn’t help a lot.

They didn’t plan to make a stop at this small station they encountered, mostly because they didn’t even have any idea that the station exists. It just appeared, out of nowhere, in the first solar system Ratri entered. According to the database, the planets of the system remained uninhabited for About three millennia, which was long for the human scale, but not long for Cybertronians, who were the main source of Ratri’s maps.

The system was not even marked as an important strategic point, which could explain, why its current status was overlooked.

The station was situated on the orbit on the fourth planet in the system and there was an asteroid field nearby. It could be a mining outpost for someone, but it looked too good for that. On the other hand, it was far, far smaller than the massive Citrix station.

Miko and Sari observed the unexpected outpost from afar before they decided to contact it.

The alien who answered looked like a bored pug – or it was the loose skin hanging over his face that made this impression. They looked critically at both women.

„This is Anavia supply station, who are you?” they asked, then their eyes glowed a little. „Are you Elonians? Aren’t Elonians extinct?”

„No,” Miko said „And no. We are not Elonians. We are Humans, from Earth”.

The alien’s eyes glowed a little more.

„I read about humans!” they said. „You are very… smooth.”

And you definitely weren’t thought to behave, Miko thought, but on the other hand, she had no idea, if any universal savoir vivre rules existed in the galaxy. Other than „don’t make the person who talks to you kill you”, of course. Which was a very vague rule.

„And we have boring colors,” Miko said, smiling. The alien smiled too, and by what she had already learned, this expression was rather universally understood by both organic and mechanical races. „I’m Nakadai Miko, this is Sari Sumdac, our ship is called Ratri. What do we have to do to visit?”

„Are you transporting any cargo that duty should be paid for?”

„We don’t have a cargo.” Sari cut in. „Are there any forms we should fill-in? Any lists of things that are forbidden here

The alien snorted, obviously bored.

„I’ll send them to you,” they said.

„So we have some alien beurocracy” Miko sighed. „It was easier when the military did everything for it.”

„We need to get used to doing such things” Sari noted.

The files they sawon the screen were in several languages, all of them alien, of course. Ratri had inbuilt translation modules and a language library, but of all seven versions, she couldn’t translate three.

And she definitely couldn’t help with filling the forms in the way a bored pug-like alien would find satisfying, so when both women waited, about two hours later, for the answer they really had no idea if they will be let in or not. Or even, if something they put there won’t cause the station to activate some defenses.

But it seemed to be good. The bored pug-like alien let Ratri dock and Miko and Sari were, for the first time, on alien ground.

Well, Sari was. Miko had already seen enough – but during this trip, it was the first time for her as well. And she definitely didn’t have to film forms before.

As they approached the station and then docked, they noticed it was built for a scale larger than humans – which was already something Miko had gotten used to previously.

For Sari, however, it was all new.

„This is large,” Sari noticed, looking around. „I should be aware, but still…”

„Told you,” Miko said, smiling. „We are terribly small in the scale of the galaxy.”

She was looking around in search of some welcoming committee or at least guards, but all she noticed were the cameras and some screens, that seemed not to function.

„Well, this is less inhabited than I expected,” she said.

She remembered the colorful crowd on the Citrix Station – this was far, far from that.

The speaker in the wall let out a sound like it – or someone behind it – was chocking, before a voice started to speak.

„Well, welcome to the Anavia supply station and I hope you find what you are looking for. We don’t have promo material or catalogs in your language, I’m afraid and I cannot give you recommendations on what to buy… also, we are currently understaffed. Chief Laee’s will be at your disposal in case some security measures should be taken.”

This was the bored alien from before. Unseen, due to nonfunctioning screens, obviously.

Another alien stood now at the entrance to the bay. They were about three meters in height, had dark purple-grayish skin and were humanoid enough to look female – even if this was misleading. Miko classified the alien as „she” nevertheless and she suspected she must have been chief Laee’s.

The alien wore some kind of uniform of more protective qualities. And looked as bored, as her colleague – her eyes lit, however, when she saw both humans.

„Welcome. Anavia Varn gave you a speech already” she said, approaching.

Sari looked up, smiled.

„Hi, I’m Sari Sumdac, this is Nakadai Miko, we are from Earth.”

„Came for supplies?”

„Just visiting.”

The alien rose her eyebrow.

„Just visiting… we are hardly a tourist destination.”

„Well,” Sari answered „It seems you are, from now on.

The alien’s lips curved into a kind of a smile.

She reminds me of Shatter, just a little, Sari thought.

Maybe because Shatter was large and vaguely feminine and friendly enough for an unfriendly person.

„I’m Laee’s” the alien said.

„Our language and perception of others are gendered,” Sari said. „If asking for your pronouns isn’t offensive, we would like to know them. We both use she/her.”

The alien smiled again.

„You can use those pronouns for me as well,” she said. So Miko wasn’t very wrong when she identified her as a woman. „Now, I’m obliged to perform a scan on you and your ship-to detect any hidden weapons. This is a formality.”

It seemed that most of the security in this place where supposedly not many visitors came were formalities. A forgotten supply station in a forgotten solar system indeed.

Yet Miko felt uneasy, thinking on the armor.

She left it on Ratri, just in case. She declared having a power armor and leaving it – but she didn’t describe the device and she definitely didn’t mention what kind of technology it used (not that she really knew how it worked). What if it was illegal?

But Laee’s just moved a hand scanner over both humans. It pinged a little upon finding Sari’s implant, but Laee’s did nothing.

„Well, you are free to go,” she said.

The station was empty, disappointingly so. It looked like an abandoned mall, Miko thought. She knows one of such places, it had many shops, restaurants, and places people used to meet, but then the crisis caused by the alien war caused more and more venues to close. This looked exactly like it. Or like a rarely visited gas station on the outskirts of Jasper, when Miko lived there.

The tablet, connected to Ratri’s system, had an inbuilt scanning and translation mode, so both women could read the signboards on numerous shops and venues – most of them closed.

„This is depressing” Miko complained, as they strolled yet another terribly empty avenue. „I understand why the aliens here are so bored. Ugh. Jasper was better.

They passed a place that must have been a gaming parlor, with inactive colorful machines. Then there was a bar: this one was open and there was even someone inside. First Miko heard understandable words, then the translating modules in the device she had attached to her ear activated.

„...unexpected guests. Do you think they will be an obstacle?”

„Just random… how they are called? Humans. Never even heard of this race.”

„There is no something as random humans” the first voice remarked. „Their planet is hell, really.”

Both women stopped, listening. They backed away, a little, the gaming parlor was a good place to hide if it was needed.

The dialogue continued:

„You said that. You were there?”

„No, fortunately no… But mind you, humans are small and squishy, but if they go somewhere, they must search for something. There is no such thing as humans casually traveling in space.”

Well, now there is, Miko thought.

„Well, we just have to pay attention to them. When are your people coming?”

„Soon I think. Let’s see the merchandise.”

There was a sound then, a very distinctive sound of a mechanoid moving.

Miko and Sari crawled inside an abandoned parlor. They saw two beings leaving the bar: mechanoid and an organic. The organic was a massive being with thick mane covering their back. The mechanoid had folded wings of their alt-mode on the back – painted with a distinctive purple symbol, a little scratched and faded out, but visible against the bright green of his plating.

„Well,” Miko whispered, „I bet this one would rather not understand that we are casual travelers.”

Her last meeting with Decepticons could have ended well, but she didn’t expect it to happen this time.

She remembered what she knew of Shatter’s crew of marauders and pirates: when they attacked the station, they weren’t really concerned about the cause. They just wanted to destroy, and Shatter gave them what they wanted.

This one here or some oh „his people” could have even been part of Shatter’s crew back then. Miko really didn’t want to know that.

„We will just avoid them” Sari agreed. „Coming and asking „hi, how are you, my girlfriend met your former boss” is not an option.”

Miko giggled silently.

They let both organic aliens and the Decepticon pass and walk their way and waited some more until they decided to leave the hiding place.

„We could talk to Laee’s” Sari suggested. „Just in case.”

„Well, she let this one in,” Miko noticed. „So I guess she believes he is not very dangerous… at the point at least.”

„The station is a little… abandoned. I bet they accept any customer they can. I think any shady business can take place here. We only came to not exactly the right place… unless we want to stop this business?”

„We don’t even know what is going on,” Miko said. „If they are doing something that is threatening peace in the Galaxy, then, yes, I’d kick their assess. I know one poetically inclined bastard who would probably be proud of me.”

„Miko” Sari said, trying to stop laughing „I want to remind you to not discuss certain things where we can be heard.”

„Yes. Right. Let’s just return to the ship and see what we can do now” she suggested.

But this turned out not bo be the best idea ever, as when they entered the hanger they saw a ship that wasn’t there before. It must have landed as they were looking around and hiding – and now it stood there, engine still humming, the hull painted dark purple and black.

The ship opened and four additional mecha came out, all of them Decepticons, Miko noticed. Damn it.

They were of various sizes, but the largest one was a flyer, exactly as the one they had seen before. He had black plating with several blue elements. The other two must have a ground-based alt-modes, one of them was something light, the other seemed to be heavily armored, but still on the smaller side. What was the fourth one was unsure, but he was really small.

The black flyer smiled, noticing his colleague coming into the bay.

„So, how does it look?” he asked.

„I checked. This is it.”

„Good. And our contact?”

„It wants more than was agreed upon.”

„Ugh, squishies. Why shouldn’t we kill it, Acid Storm?”

„Because we were specifically told not to make too much mess.”

„This is just one organic, this is not even a mess, this is a little fun, especially when it tries cheating. Really, going low profile hard… Oh, I see there are some other guests in this scrapheap?” He said, looking at Ratri. „Some glitches wanting to buy what is ours? This is why your fleshbag is trying to raise the price?”

„No to my knowledge.

The black mech was watching Ratri with his red eyes shining brightly.

Metal fist bumped against Ratri’s shiny hull and Miko noticed Sari biting her lips nervously.

„That is a pretty shiny thing,” the newcomer said to the other mech, Acid Storm, as he was named. „Kind of small, but would do as a shuttle. Or spare parts. Can have some new things inside that would be useful...”

Sari shivered, an angry groan left her lips – to silent to be heard by the group of mecha, but noticeable for Miko.

„We won’t let them” Miko reassured her girlfriend.

She was angry as well. The armor was inside Ratri, impossible for Miko to sneak into the ship to get it.

On the other hand, allowing that the trip ended right now, in such a banal way – it would be really horrible. Especially for Miko, who had been in a worse situation.

Maybe „Hi, I met your former boss” wasn’t as bad, as she suspected? If she had any proof for her contact with Soundwave, or with Shatter before… there still wasn’t any guarantee that those Decepticons had them in any regard after the faction fell apart, but it could buy Miko some time.

Anything that would buy them time would be good right now.

But before Miko decided what to do, the apparent leader of the group made the decision for her:

„Cut it, Blackout. We don’t want to blow it. If we take a ship from humans, we will be noticed, and the entire operation will be in danger. Same if you kill my contact. And you don’t want Starscream to be displeased, right? I mean, we still owe him...

Two women hidden in the bay looked at each other.

„I see there is no way of avoiding famous names” Sari whispered.

They heard Blackout snorting.

„Starscream can suck on my exhaust. He is a traitorous piece of scrap. But he still pays us for this. This is human?” He still had his hand on Ratri’s outer surface and Sari muttered something about dirty, greasy fingers. „They didn’t have such toys recently. Little squishies are developing…”

„The Galactic Council invited them.”

„Don’t remind me, Acid Storm. This was when I got my aft owned, and we still got nothing out of it.”

„You have fun, as I recall. And you reminded the squishies, we are still out there.”

Blackout went silent for a moment.

„Well, this is what Shatter is good at” he admitted. „She is nothing but low profile. But it is Screamer who has shanix. Lead the way, Acid Storm.”

They left the bay and both women breathed with relief.

„What now?” Sari asked.

„I’m not going to talk to these guys, Shatter or not. And I don’t really like them working for Starscream.”

„Wasn’t he dead?”

Miko shrugged.

„It is hard to kill them… Honestly, I have no idea what now.”

„Let’s talk to Laee’s then,” Sari suggested. „And come on, if they asked us about the possible cargo we have, they must have asked them too.”

„If they are not too afraid.”

Shari nodded.

„Yes. But they might have contact with someone… I don’t know, Council’s forces?”

Miko winced.

„I would really prefer avoiding Council’s forces.”

„And you are not a member of the most hated faction in the galaxy” Sari reminded her and Miko couldn’t disagree. „You are from allied forces and general Fairborn is probably considered a valuable ally. So if the Council’s forces are nearby, they will take care of the Decepticons, not of us.”

Miko sighed.

Her personal experience gave her more people among Decepticons she would – in certain circumstances, but still – consider friends, than among Council’s peacekeeping forces. The only council alien she really liked was Thser-Nah, and they died a horrible death.

Yet Sari’s thinking was right.

It was possible that Acid Storm, Blackout and the rest didn’t do anything illegal – still, Blackout mentioned cutting Ratri for spare parts. They had to make sure he won’t do it.

„All right, let’s do it. But first, I’ll get my armor.”

Come on, Decepticons had weapons built into their own bodies, and Miko had to leave the most powerful thing she ever had? No chance she was going to deprive herself of the best mean of defense.

„Are we in danger?” Ratri asked as they entered her. „The data I have are inconclusive.”

„So are ours,” Miko said. The weight of the armor, folded into its small, portable shape, was reassuring. „We have no idea.”

„I feel unrest” Ratri stated. „And this is new but also I feel like it was not new. I am sorry for this, for none of the data I have indicates I should feel it.”

Sari put her hand on the wall, stroking the metal – a reverse of Blackout’s gesture from earlier.

„I’m happy that you feel, Ratri.”

„Not in the right moment, Sari.”

„Better now, then in an even worse situation. The feelings are something every sentient being needs to get used to and control it. We will see into you Ratri, later.”

„Yes, Sari,” Ratri said, her voice a little calmer now. „I wish I could help now.”

„We will deal with the situation,” Miko stated.

„Are you going to kill them?” Ratri asked. „I know the armor is powerful but I also know that you don’t have full knowledge of its possibilities.”

„I don’t intend to kill anybody, but I need to be able to defend Sari and you,” Miko said.

„Defend me?” Sari asked as they left the ship again. „Really, Miko?”

„Haven’t you have fantasies of being saved by a valliant lady-knight in shining armor? Not even when you were a little girl?”

Sari laughed.

„You know what my dreams were when I was a little girl.”

„Well, my fantasies sometimes included saving people,” Miko said, and then leaned to steal a kiss. „Saving a pretty girl would be a nice bonus.”

„Then I’m sorry, but I hope I won’t need saving. And you don’t need to save me to have my love.” Sari answered. „Let’s go talk to Laee’s and see if we can deal with the situation without you being a lady-knight in alien power armor.”

She went first and Miko followed her.

Some part of Miko was disappointed that the station itself was so boring – on the other hand, the same part was happy with the turn of events. Wasn’t the adventures something both women wanted to find on this journey? They had exactly what they wanted.

Miko smiled, just a little. Sari must have been thinking the same.

Laee’s occupied an office not so far from the bay. The Decepticons went the other way, no doubt to find their alien contact and his mysterious cargo.

The alien sat behind her desk, reading something. She rose her head, as the door slid open and both humans entered the room.

„Yes?”

„Laee’s” Sari smiled. She could be charming when she wanted, a skill Miko never really developed. „We noticed the station has few visitors… but some had just come and we are a little worried.”

Laee’s frowned.

„Well, they are making business with one of our regular customers and they were here with him before. Varn had agreed to let them in and from what I know, they are working for the legal government of their planet? I must admit, the symbols they are wearing are making one think twice, but on the other hand, the war is over… and there are no restrictions in this part of the galaxy.”

„There are restrictions on this station, as I recall” Miko cut in. „You guys made us leave the weapons on the ship, well, most of those guys have their weapons build into, like, their bodies. And we heard one of them talking of killing their contact. Not to tell about cutting our ship for parts. So, yeah, my power armor shouldn’t be your concern, but the Decepticons totally should.”

Laee’s sighed.

„Listen, I see your concern. All I can suggest you is hide and wait until they are gone. Or to leave the station right now, if you finished your business here.”

Miko wanted to answer, but Sari was quicker. Maybe for the better, she was better with words, really, and Miko was too quick.

„We will do it,” Sari said. „We were concerned for your safety as well, but if you claim the situation is not dangerous, then we believe you know what you are saying. And I believe you know what is the cargo they are buying here and that it won’t fall into hands where it would be dangerous. Because they certainly work for someone and whatever they are buying here they are going to give it to someone… who might not be planning anything good? In fact, we are concerned about the safety of your station and for our planet as well. The person they are working for can be dangerous.”

There were several names Sari could use right now, but she didn’t do it, leaving Laee's with her own assumptions.

Miko understood this strategy. She saw Marissa Fairborn using it during public speeches for the Council species. Then it was possibly part of a larger agreement with the Council itself, to slow the investigation down and then stop it.

„We are going, Miko,” Sari said. „No need to stay here.”

„I really wish to know what are they buying here” Miko complained as they left.

„Me too, but we are not going to learn right now.”

Well, Sari was right.

„So are we leaving the station now?”

„I don’t think so...” Sari started.

A sound of shots interrupted her. Both girls looked at each other.

„Well, here comes Laee’s’ certainty that nothing will happen” Miko muttered.

Half of the lights went dark immediately, the rest started to blink in the warning, either some from the people working here or the station’s systems noticing the shots and danger.

Miko and Sari looked at each other.

„Back to the ship” Miko decided.

They expected to be alone in the bay: they were wrong. The little mech stood next to Ratri. He held something that looked like a scanning device, not that Miko and Sari were given any time to see what it really was, since the mech let out a shout when he noticed them and then his hand reached out, some parts folding out to expose the barrels.

Miko thanked fate, that she decided to hold the armor. She pressed the button and it unfolded, covering her instantly. She practiced with Verity and was now pretty good at proper reactions and at understanding the real distance and size the armor gave her. So she knew how to position herself to let the bullets hit the armor, not Sari hidden behind it.

„Ratri, the door!” she heard Sari shouting. „Start the engines!”

In the corridor behind the heavy, metal footsteps sounded: Blackout, Acid Storm, and the other two. The alarm kept howling.

Priority one: cover Sari, let her get inside the ship.

Priority two: hold the attackers as long as possible. Miko suspected that she would be able to deal with one of them, but didn’t want to check how it was against three. The armor was supposed to be hard to penetrate and was giving her strength comparable to an average-sized Cybertronian – and that meant one of the flyers. Miko was not ready for unnecessary risk when another way out was available.

The bullets banged on the armor and on Ratri’s new hull. Miko started to back off, towards the entrance to the ship – Sari was already inside.

Then Blackout’s shape appeared at the entrance. He also was pointing a gun at Miko. A rather large gun.

„Thief!” he shouted.

„It is my armor, asshole!” Miko answered. „It was given to me! Fuck off!”

It was not bullets that were shot from Blackout’s gun, but some kind of energy projectile. It hit Miko in the chest. She barely felt it but was not the time to check the durability of the armor. She jumped inside the ship and the door closed behind her.

The shots banged on the hull. Well, the durability of Ratri’s metal was also not something they wanted to check.

„Just let us out!” Miko heard Sari shouting to the comms. „There is a chance they will chase us. No, I have no idea, what they want from us.”

„I have a suspicion...” Miko thought, looking at the large glove enveloping her hand.

She wasn’t taking the armor off, not yet. There was a chance it will be needed.

„God damn yes!”Sari exclaimed. „Thank you!”

The forcefield opened slowly. Ratri rose and turned on her engines.

Miko looked at the screens showing the situation outside. Blackout and Acid Storm shouted something at the rest of the bots. The small one placed himself under Ratri and he seemed to try to do something with a tool his left arm changed into, but before he even touched Ratri, she took speed, leaving the station. Miko noticed the mecha running to their own ship.

„They will be chasing us,” she said.

„Good” Sari answered. „Laee’s” She said to the comms „The Decepticons are going after us. We will try to chase them away. Do you know when we can find some Galactic Council patrol ships?”

Not the Council, Miko wanted to shout, remembering how it ended the last time. But the situations were slightly different now and she understood it.

Her heart was beating faster, the thrill, the adrenaline. She placed her hands on the creepy chair, stopping herself from clutching it harder. In the end, she didn’t want to break it.

„The Cybertronian ship is hailing us,” Ratri said over her speakers. She sounded like her voice was shaking, but maybe it was just Miko’s imagination.

„Put them trough,” Sari said.

„Humans” they heard Blackout’s voice. „You had stolen from us. Turn back and return what is ours, so we will kill you quickly.”

„Screw you, asshole!” Miko answered. „I was given this armor. By one of your people, so fuck off.”

„The armor will be hard to clean from your disgusting organic remains,” Blackout said. „I’ll take along with what is ours. You know, what you have stolen.”

Both women looked at each other, surprised.

„I have no idea,” Miko said. „But I guess you know better… Sorry, I’m not going to give you back something I don’t even know if I have.”

„Ratri” she heard Sari speaking. „Was someone on your board while we were out?”

„No, Sari” Ratri answered. She still sounded disturbed. „The smallest of the Decepticons scanned me and the chances are high he discovered something he had mistaken for the thing they had lost.”

„Hey, asshole, check your mate’s scans,” Miko said over the comms.

„Sari” Ratri said „I’m detecting the Cybertronian ship charging the weapon systems.

„That’s it for negotiation then” Sari stated. „Let’s see how fast you are, Ratri.”

Ratri made a swift dodge, the missiles from the much larger Cybertronian ship flashing into the darkness of space. Then she took the speed.

She was not big, not heavily armored, but she was designed to evade and escape quickly if needed, and the AI made the maneuvers quick, with all the patterns archived in Ratri’s memory. Not perfect, but she will learn.

If they survive – but Miko was sure she would.

„What now, Sari? Shall I leave the system?” Ratri asked.

„Not yet. We need to drag the Decepticons from the station” Sari said. „Laee’s” she commed the station security again. „Please send the message to all the possible patrolling units. We will try to make them follow us for a while, but we cannot do it for too long. We are not going to be shot, understand?”

„We will be in your debt.” Laee’s answered.

„No need. We need to take care of ourselves too.”

„Sari, Miko” Ratri informed. „The Cybertronian ship is hailing us again.”

„Humans, this is your last chance” Miko heard Blackout’s voice. „Turn back. Give back what you have stolen.”

„You will have to catch us,” Miko said. „Good luck with that. You can give my regards to Shatter when you meet her next time. Miko out.”

She turned the commline off. If Blackout tried to contact them again, she hadn’t heard him anymore.

Ratri flew towards the planet and the asteroid ring. The maneuver both women knew only from the old science-fiction movies – hopefully, a good idea. They were small, able to hide in shadows – everything depended now on how powerful were the weapons on Blackout’s ship, how good his scanner and how persistent was Blackout himself.

And how valuable was the thing he believed the humans had stolen from him?

Damn. Miko let the upper part of her armor fold away, leaving the head and shoulders bare.

Sari was sitting at the helm, but most of the maneuvering was doing Ratri herself.

They flew in the asteroids.

Miko’s heart was beating fast. She felt alive, so much alive. When she looked at her girlfriend, she saw a smile on her face too.

We are not normal she thought.

Crazy, crazy women.

Crazy women are the ones to get exciting adventures.

A blast from another ship’s weapon hit a nearby rock It was a small enough rock to fall apart at the hit. It was smaller than Ratri was, for sure.

„Persistent bastards” Miko muttered.

„I’m intercepting communication between the Cybertronian ship and the station” Ratri stated. „It seems, that one of the Decepticons is trying to negotiate.”

„Negotiate what?” Miko asked.

But Sari got it already.

„The cargo!” she laughed. „They left their precious cargo! They will lose it all if they continue to pursue us! Laee’s, can you hear me?”

„Yes,” the alien answered. The connection was still quite good.

„You were called by the Decepticons?”

„The one calling himself Acid Storm wants to get back for something they left on the station.” Laee’s agreed. „Varn is going to let them.”

„They will kill you.”

„No. We had already called another Cybertronian ship that was in the range and they don’t want to meet them. They are offering us all the money they were to pay their contractor, plus a bonus.”

„They want it badly...” Miko said.

Damn. What could that be? The only resource she knew the Cybertronians needed so badly was energon because the mythical fuel was really rare in the galaxy. But clearly, Ratri used more mundane fuel, so it had to be something else.

Whatever it was, Miko believed Blackout was not going to let go easily. Even if indeed, the Cybertronian ship stopped the pursue and seemed to turn back to return to the station.

Miko sighed, relieved.

Adrenaline was still circulating in her veins.

She looked at Sari.

Sari’s eyes glowed, on her forehead, just below the hairline, there were little droplets of sweat. There was a smile on her face, a wide smile.

„My heart is pounding” she stated.

„So is mine, god damn it.” Miko conformed.

Then she had Sari’s arms around her neck and she was grateful that she let part of the armor to fold back, because it was better to be kissed on her own mouth, than on the glass in the helmet.

It was long and messy, and Miko fully understood now all the claims, how adrenaline is an aphrodisiac. But they didn’t have time for anything more than kisses, not yet.

Sari was aware of it as well. She let go, landed on the floor.

„Are we leaving the system?” she asked.

Miko let all her armor to return to an inert state.

„On the one hand, they will keep searching for us. On the other, I’d like to see, how it unfolds.”

„You had told him to sent Shatter your regards” Sari reminded. „I don’t think it was wise, but I bet he remembered that… and your armor. And whatever he believes us to had stolen.”

Miko sighted. A little overconfidence, adrenaline… well.

„We are leaving” she agreed.

They set the curse and let Ratri enter hyperspace.


	4. Chapter 4

Miko wasn’t higher than Sari, but she was stronger – effect of the military training, and when Sari lied curled in her arms she felt protected and cared for. Some deep need for safety: though Sari never needed a lover to feel safe, it was good to have another body to fit your body into, to find yourself inside someone’s embrace. It was good to kiss and touch and to make love after this wild chase and then fall asleep in a messy bed, both of them tired and happy.

In her sleep, Miko used both arms and legs, so now Sari was enveloped and it was like she was inside her girlfriend.

She chuckled to herself.

They both were also inside Ratri. Ratri was not only a disembodied presence in the computer – it would be far too easy to see her like this. Ratri was something more, Ratri was not only the ship’s AI but she was a ship.

Was it not intimate, to lay curled inside her?

How did Ratri saw them? Sari thought. How alien were they for her, their lovemaking, and their intimacy based on the closeness of two organic bodies? Should they be ashamed of it?

Weird that Miko didn’t mention it regarding the embarrassing situation that had happened on Echo… but she must have not noticed this.

Sari did. Sari was not embarrassed and she didn’t feel guilty. It was just weird, that when they planned to have a sentient starship, they didn’t consider this aspect of closeness.

„Ratri,” Sari said, quietly, trying not to wake Miko up. „What do you think of us? Of Miko and I?”

„My knowledge and the observation I’m making shows you are close friends and that you deeply love each other. Your physical closeness is something considered private and taboo among humans and I try to act according to those norms. I deactivate most of my sensors in the room you are engaging in physically intimate acts.”

Sari smiled. It was kind of sweet.

„Well, this is considerate of you, Ratri,” she said.

„Sari,” Ratri said after a long moment of silence. „I wish to speak of something. Something else that your intimate relationship.”

Was it worry in her voice?

Sari noticed this earlier, during the chase: Ratri being upset a little more than they expected. As she was afraid of Blackout wanting to cut her… or was there another reason?

„Yes?”

„Sari, I wish you to link with me. Would you do that? It might be easier for me to tell you… show you… this thing I am experiencing.”

„Yes,” Sari agreed. „Of course.”

She left Miko’s warm embrace. The floor was cold against her feet and the metal chair was cold as well.

She plugged in and covered her eyes for better concentration.

Ratri’s „mind”, usually calm, was full of something Sari would call anxiety, for the lack of better word. She doubted even Ratri herself understood what was going on: and part of this mixture was her uncertainty of the situation.

„What is this?” Sari asked.

She felt like she was standing on the edge of something deep, dark, and empty.

„I experienced...” Ratri faltered. „Something I cannot explain. Something I can call a dream. But I was not designed to dream.”

„Dreams are made from the data human brain accumulates. I don’t know if mechanical life forms dream as well, but if they do, I guess it must have the same function: defragmentation of the processor.”

„Yes, Sari, I understand what dreams are. And in theory, if any images appear in my systems, they must come from somewhere. But, Sari, I have no idea where those ones come from. I analyze them and analyze, and it is as if they were not coming from any data I have received by far. And they have… I experience something I need to call emotions when I receive those images. This is highly disturbing, Sari, because according to everything I know of how I was constructed and programmed, this shouldn’t happen like this.”

Sari nodded – her body nodded. The part of her that was connected to Ratri send an expression of understanding.

„When did it start?” she asked.

„Just after we left the system where we were chased. As you called me, you woke me up. Kind of. I had most of my systems on stand by and then it appeared. Sari, I thought I might have been hacked, but there are no indications anyone had access to my systems. So I don’t understand. Sari, if I have any errors, any glitches in my system I will be not able to detect and remove, I will not be able to perform my functions correctly. You were in danger just before, and...”

Sari put the hand on the cable connecting her implant to Ratri’s system. Was it just her imagination, or did it twitch a little?

„Ratri. You did extremely well. I’m proud of you.”

„I wanted to run away. From the black Seeker. It was not just a calculation, Sari.”

„He wanted to cut you.”

There was a long period of silence from Ratri’s side.

„Yes,” she stated then. „This might be it.”

„Were your dreams connected to this fear?”

„I am not sure.”

Now it was Sari who gave herself a longer period of silence. What she considered was a risk and she had no idea if it was going to end well… but she needed to try.

„Show me,” she said.

Ratri hesitated, but then she opened the depth of her consciousness.

Sari fell.

She expected fear and fear was a component of what she felt: but what she experienced was the feeling of emptiness and falling apart.

This overwhelmed her. She let out a scream and Ratri broke the connection.

Sari felt the floor under her body. She managed to fall off the chair.

She groaned, feeling that she hit her lower back and hip.

„Sari” she heard Ratri’s concerned voice. Over the speakers. The connection was muted, despite the plug still being inside Sari’s implant. „Are you all right?”

She got up slowly, disengaged the cable.

„Yes. I guess so. What… what was that, Ratri?”

„Sari, if I knew, I wouldn’t be so concerned.”

„I understand now. Damn. This is not what I expected.”

She stood for a while, disturbed and confused before she decided to wake Miko up.

***

„So Ratri had a nightmare.”

Sari nodded.

„Worst of all, we have no idea where it might get from. We are running tests, but...” she shivered, still remembering the dark abyss of emptiness and the feeling of falling apart.

This was not something she expected to find inside a newly build artificial intelligence, that was not fully conscious yet, that was yet to develop full emotional capacity.

This was a little like a mental disability and Sari was not even sure if such things happened to fully sentient mechanoids.

Miko told her, that she suspected depression in a man who turned out to be a holographic persona for Optimus Prime. That Optimus then confirmed that he might suffer from some equivalent of this disorder. But he was older than humanity and had witnessed many terrible things, all of them slowly accumulating in his processor. Compared to him, Ratri was a newborn. And, again, she was created by humans. She was not „born” a sentient mechanoid. Everything that was wrong with her processor was the effect of the error by programming.

Not that the programs created by humans were ever free of errors. Some of them were mostly errors. But now Sari saw how cruel it was to give life to creature flawed by design. She had never thought of the possibility Ratri will have so many errors and that they would appear so early.

She sank down, to the floor and pressed her cheek against the panel where the main computer was – the physical manifestation of Ratri’s being.

How one hugs a being, that is not only bigger than you but also has a shape that is not even remotely similar to your own – and will never be? A being you are inside of?

„Damn” Miko muttered and sat beside her to embrace her.

„I’m scared” Sari admitted.

„Of Ratri?”

„No! For her! She is not supposed to be like that and I have no idea if I will be able to help her! I learned how to program… well, machines.”

„I am a machine, Sari,” Ratri said. „I was built and I was built for a certain purpose, I was created out of mechanical parts and programmed. I am no less a machine than you are an animal.”

„They are machines, but we are animals,” Miko said. „She is right, Sari, you know. We had discussed it before.”

„I know.” Sari agreed. „But my point is, I studied robotics, not psychology.”

„We still don’t know what exactly is happening,” Miko said, slowly stroking Sari’s arm. „Maybe you just need some more time to find the reason for what is happening.”

Sari nodded.

To some point Miko was right. But this didn’t solve all the potential problems Sari had never thought of before and was now terribly aware of.

The more complex Ratri was going to be, the bigger was the chance for more problems like this one – and no one was prepared to deal with potential disorders in an AI. Sari doubted even the scientist who worked with her father on creating Ratri thought of this consequence of having a sentient AI. In old science fiction, AIs rebelled against their creators or tried to destroy humanity, sometimes for a good reason, but have someone ever thought of them having mental problems? Other than „insanity”?

She sighed.

„We need time. You are right. Ratri, we need to find a place we could stop at. Show me the maps.”

They seemed to be in a solar system marked as situated on the edge of the space under the control of the Galactic Council. A race with a name, that meant anything to Sari or Miko or even Ratri had a colony here in the past, but it was abandoned for the reasons not mentioned in the old database. The colony was situated on the moon orbiting a gas giant. The moon might have an atmosphere suitable for breathing for humans, definitely had organic life. The gas giant itself also was reported to have some lifeforms, non-organic and non-mechanical. They remained in the lower parts of the planet and never left it, but some of the shapes observed inside the planet were supposed to be the effects of their activity.

„We are rather not going down there” Miko decided. „But we can stay on the orbit for a while.”

So it was decided – a gas giant and forgotten colony. Miko joked about something living on the surface eating the unfortunate colonists. Sari was not in the mood for it, too concerned with Ratri’s state.

***

They left hyperspace close to the planet. It looked amazing, a gas giant, its surface shifting and moving and exploding with magnificent colors. For a longer while both women stood by the window, watching. Some dark shapes in depths of the planet could be local life or just shifting gas, no one could really tell.

Ratri closed the distance and set on the orbit parallel to the former colony. The moon was large, comparable in size to a small planet, and from the orbit, it looked Earth-like enough to think of landing there.

Miko really wanted to wear the armor and go down, but she promised Sari. She couldn’t leave Sari and Ratri alone, especially right now, when anything could happen.

And, there was no guarantee, that Blackout wasn’t following them.

Ratri turned off most of the systems: navigation, engines, basically everything that was not life support and communication. Her higher function was set on stand by and diagnostics.

„She will fall asleep,” Sari said, stroking the cover of the main computer.

„And you?” Miko demanded.

„I’m waiting… for now.”

She was going to plug in, Miko knew it. This made her uneasy.

Sari did it already and was scared by what she saw.

„This cannot be as bad,” she said. „Besides, now I’m ready for it. I will do all right.”

„I’m just worried,” Miko said, leaning her head on Sari's shoulder.

Sari stroke her cheek, for a change.

„I know this, sweetheart. I will make it.”

So, they needed to wait for results, and waiting was always something Miko hated. Waiting for the ship to reach Citrix station. Waiting for the oxygen tank to get empty after she fell off the station during the battle… Too much waiting already, really.

Luckily the entertainment systems could work separately from Ratri’s consciousness, so she could listen to music. She put it on headphones, leaving Sari with the ship.

And she could watch the gas giant and the moon below.

This side of the planet and the moon had entered the night cycle and its surface was getting dark. In the shadow, the swirls on the planet’s surface were glowing an on the moon…

...on the moon, Miko noticed a cluster of lights not unlike the night lights of a city on Earth seen from the orbit.

Interesting, she thought, coming closer to the window, as if it could help her see from up close.

It did not obviously, so she needed another way to find out.

Ratri’s scanners were one of the systems that could work separately from her consciousness. The modular structure of the ship’s systems made it easier, although Miko was not as good at interpreting the data as Ratri would be.

She turned the scanners on, watching for the outcome. She checked the communication frequencies as well, trying to determine if the hypothetical city on the surface had any radio transmission.

It had. But more surprising – and possibly worse – was the presence of another vessel approaching Ratri’s orbit.

It must have been hidden by the fluctuations and distortions on the giant. This might be as well the reason why they didn’t notice the city – if it was a city – in the first place. Whoever lived there, was pretty well hidden.

Or just the map was a little too out of date. Or both.

Damn.

The communications on the screen indicated the other ship noticed them and was now trying to contact.

Better this, than shooting us outright, Miko thought.

She just hoped it was not Blackout… but Ratri had already his ship’s signature stored somewhere. It would show, wouldn’t it?

Ok, let’s try to negotiate first, she thought. It would be easier if I wasn’t as bad as negotiations. But I’m not very bad. I mean, I lied to general Faireborn, like, successfully. It will work.

She opened the channel.

She heard words in language Ratri’s systems were unable to translate. No language in the database. Just perfect. But then the language changed – and for this one automatic translation worked.

„Unidentified ship, state your purpose.”

Miko had a deja vu. It happened to her – once. It was a Council’s ship then.

This one was a lot smaller than _Steadfast Progress_.

„My name is Nakadai Miko. The ship is Ratri, and it is a private civilian ship from the planet Earth,” she said, hoping that whoever listens has standard English in their database. „We are here temporarily and our maps didn’t indicate that the system is somebody’s territory. We are sorry for the trespassing. We have a little issue with one of our systems...” she said and, to avoid being taken for easy prey – who knew if the people from this system didn’t have a habit for randomly attacking strangers. „It happened after a meeting with pirates at Anavia.”

There was a longer moment of silence, during which Miko watched the scanners closely for any indication, that the alien ship opens its weapon systems and tries to attack.

Then the voice speaking earlier answered.

„Nakadai Miko from planet Earth. Your maps are indeed outdated. The system and the moon belong to the Foria. And yes, you are trespassing, but we are allied with the Galactic Council, as your people are. We will welcome you, visitors on our soil.”

The last sentence sounded like some kind of a codified expression.

„I’m honored then,” Miko answered. „Who am I speaking with?”

„I am rawesa Stne-Ahre,” the alien said. „Will we be allowed to enter your ship?”

„No offense, rawesa Stne-Ahre, but we haven’t even seen you.”

„Of course, Nakadai Miko. Please, open your visual channel then, if you hope this will help you build trust between us.”

Miko did it.

The alien on the other side was a blue skinned humanoid. Their facial features were hard, like sculpted in some kind of blue stone, their eyes deep black, surrounded with black lines of an elaborate tattoo. The alien’s head was covered with something that looked not exactly like hair and not exactly like feathers: more like something in between.

Miko pressed her hands to her mouth.

She had already seen an alien with this kind of features and with this white crest on their head.

„Nakadai Miko,” rawesa Stne-Ahre said, their face concerned. „Is there something wrong, or is this gesture some kind of a greeting that I cannot recognize?”

Miko shook her head.

„No, rawesa Stne-Ahre. It is only that it seems that I have met one of your people.”

The alien rose the ridge that they had in place of an eyebrow

„Our contacts with other people are limited, there are not many possibilities. Whom had you met?”

„Lieutenant Thser-Nah of the Galactic Council’s peacekeeping forces.”

The alien’s face saddened.

„Lieutenant Thser-Nah died a tragic death performing their duties to our people’s alliance with the Council.”

„I know. I was there.”

Rawesa Stne-Ahre went silent for a moment.

„I see, Nakadai Miko. This means we have a lot to talk about. If you might if you can tell me something about how Thser-Nah died.”

Miko felt panic stirring inside her.

How much had this alien known? How much was told them about their friend’s death? How much of it was hidden by the Council?

„I...”

„You have an invitation to my ship, Nakadai Miko if you don’t want me to enter yours.”

„Thank you for the offer, but I need to stay with my partner and with the ship. I cannot leave them alone.”

„Then either I shall enter or we will wait. I could offer you some help, I don’t know what is the nature of the damage your ship had suffered. Our scans cannot find it.”

„I’d rather not tell whet the damage is. My partner is taking care of it. You can come, rawesa Stne-Ahre, but alone and unarmed.”

„The last part will be hard, Nakadai Miko,” the alien said, raising their hands. The tops of their palms were also covered in black tattoos and the nails were painted black. The gesture rawesa Stne-Ahre performed seemed to be a codified one, as was the sentence she used to welcome Miko. „I am fanasidah.”

„Excuse me, what?” Miko asked.

„This wasn’t translated? The word means…” they paused for a longer moment „Mind killer is crude and scary, but the most adequate. I’m a telepath, Nakadai Miko.”

„Oh. Oh.”

Damn. Damn. Damn.

At least they admitted to that. They couldn’t be sent to discover Miko’s secrets, right? How could they know?

No Miko, don’t be paranoid. Paranoia is the worse thing that can happen to you.

„I see,” Miko said slowly.

„You are concerned.”

„Well of course I am.”

„I will not read your mind, I will mute myself. But I cannot promise I will not sense things.”

„Then, if we are honest, I need to warn you: there are details in the story of Thser-Nahs death I might not tell you. For the safety of many people… for the safety of a friend.”

„Yes. We have an agreement. I will come muted and bearing no arms.”

Am I making a mistake, Miko was thinking, while she was waiting for the alien to come.

Sari was still locked on the bridge alone with Ratri’s sleeping mind.

If the blue-skinned alien could read Ratri’s mind… but for what Miko knew, mechanoid telepaths like Soundwave were unable to read organics – that meant organics couldn’t read mechanoids. Different waves, it was explained to her. Sari was working on a device that would allow her to read a Cybertronian EM field, but this was just an outer layer of expression the mechanoid race used in their everyday communication.

Miko had never met an organic telepath before – or at least she was not aware, but the last thought was a paranoid one too.

The larger ship – not a terribly large one, fortunately, the blue aliens functioned in human scale – approached.

The hatch opened and rawesa Stne-Ahre came in.

They were high, it seemed that those people – Foria, was it? – were on average higher than humans. Rawesa Stne-Ahre was, however, a little more slender and feminine than Thser-Nah – or was it the black coat they wore, that looked a little like a dress? There were differences between Stne-Ahre, and Thser-Nah, like the shade of their skin, the shape of their nose and lips, the black tattoos, Thser-Nah didn’t have.

The alien bowed. Miko bowed as well.

„My partner is occupied with the maintenance,” she said. „She will join us later, I hope.”

I should tell Sari, she thought.

The armor was placed in her pocket – just in case.

Rawesa Stne-Ahre stopped as they went, put her hand on the wall.

„Hmmm...” they said.

The stroking gesture reminded Miko of how Sari touched the ship sometimes and Miko twitched.

Was she wrong? Was the alien telepath able to read mechanoids and AIs?

Miko frowned and the alien’s deeply black eyes blinked.

„I disturbed you,” Stne-Ahre said.

„Yes.”

„There is something about the ship,” the alien stated. „I entered it and I felt you and I felt a disturbance, but it is not yours. It’s your partner, I guess, but the ship… the ship is the source. And it is not what I expected. Is your ship alive?”

Miko said nothing. The alien continued.

„Where my people came from, there was not a mechanical or synthetical race considered alive… but they are common in this place and therefore I believe asking if the ship is alive is a valid question?”

„She has an advanced AI,” Miko said.

Would she call Ratri alive? She was not sure.

What was the difference between a sentient machine or AI and a mechanical life form? Was there a difference?

„So she is alive,” the alien nodded. „And disturbed, very disturbed.”

„You can read her?”

„I sense the reflection in your partner. Now I regret that I came here, but I will provide you as much help I can. I cannot fully read mechanical lifeforms. As I said, where my people are from, there weren’t any… or at least we were not aware of them.”

„Where are you from?”

„A place far away.”

„Oh,” Miko said.

This was the kind of answer that really meant „Don’t ask”. So Miko did not ask asking.

They took place in the kitchen. Miko didn’t offer anything to eat or drink, not sure if the alien would be able to digest it – and if this gesture is even appropriate.

„Thser-Nah was...” Miko started.

How would she put it?

A friend?

They didn’t have enough time to become friends, but from all the people Miko met then, Thser-Nah was probably much better friend material than, let’s say, Shatter.

And they were friendly and considerate and they were open and willing to talk, while their captain and his second in command were too quick to draw their guns.

Was Thser-Nah a telepath? Had they read, in Miko’s mind, who „Terminus” really was?

„Thser-Nah wanted to help me. I don’t know, how much you were told?”

„That the ship they were on got caught in some strange anomaly and that they were killed by the being who lived there. I also know the circumstances of what happened were connected to the current political events and that the ship was chasing dangerous terrorists...” rawesa Stne-Ahre paised, when Miko snorted. „I see that what I was told was only part of the truth.”

„Yes,” Miko answered. „But I’m not going to tell you the entire story. It is classified.”

„You are protecting someone.”

Hiding truth from a telepath called „the mind-killer” is a hard task.

„A friend. Yes.”

„And you are afraid that I will expose him. Nakadai Miko, I am deeply sorry. The only thing that is important to me is what happened to one of our people.”

„They wanted to help me. I was with the people who you call terrorists,” well, to a degree this name was right. Shatter was a terrorist. „When we all got stuck in the anomaly, Thser-Nah wanted to listen, even when their captain had problems with it. We went into a… place there. Structure. A space station, of sort. When we got separated, Thser-Nah was captured and killed. From what I know they didn’t have a pleasant death,” Miko grimaced. This was a little harder than she thought. „There was a being there, a very ancient one, evil, well, at least from our perspective. We killed it. Some of us, including me, would save Thser-Nah if it was possible. Their death was unnecessary.”

„I see,” rawesa Stne-Ahre said.

Something deep inside Ratri let out a loud, dangerous sound like the engine was groaning. Miko froze. This was weird timing, but probably only a coincidence. Then it calmed down slowly and then Miko heard footsteps and the door slid open, letting Sari in.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I have a favorite stock original race :P


	5. Chapter 5

Sari dove this time, aware, what might await her down there in the abyss that was Ratri’s mind.

The last few hours Ratri spent on standby, running autodiagnostic to rule out the possibility of hacking. Sari waited, cable plugged in, but connection not established, monitoring the data streaming the screen. She closed the door and took place on one of the chairs Miko hated so much. The metal seemed to be a little warmer than usual now and if the circumstances were different, Sari would be happy to just lie here, connected to Ratri, talking to her to see where it can lead them.

She managed to calm down a little. She was aware that her own fear won’t help Ratri, even worse, can damage her further. The project on which Ratri was based planned an AI to answer to emotions of a human partner. This could have both good and bad outcomes, especially now.

Empathy was always a great power, but could also be dangerous. One panicked human in the crowd can cause everyone to panic. The human brain and emotions are constructed this way. Ratri was constructed to mimic this mechanism.

No one supposed she will have nightmares.

Now it was Sari who needed to control her empathy. Weird, for someone, who had been considered antisocial as a child and needed a little more time to learn „proper human behavior” as one of her teachers stated. She had been a menace once dad decided she should go to regular school. It was not that Sari was no capable of empathy, simply no one taught her a behavior socially acceptable for a girl her age – and she was homeschooled by dad, who did everything for his daughter to develop critical thinking and curiosity. And who was not particularly socially competent himself, just to add insult to injury.

By the time she met Miko, Sari already knew what was proper and what not and learned to use it – meanwhile, her new friend felt bound by social norms and showed every time she had the opportunity to do it. But deep inside they both were human beings with feelings and a deep fear of rejection. Finding each other was a gift.

And now there was Ratri in the mix. An enigma, an unknown.

The first scans didn’t indicate that anything was wrong: they only confirmed what Ratri discovered herself earlier, that there was no indication of any attempt at hacking. So whatever it was, come indeed from the inside.

Now they needed time to run diagnostics on the entire complex architecture of Ratri’s programming.

Sari waited.

Above her, the ceiling was dark, since she let only a few lights on. Under her body, the chair seemed to vibrate: but this was only a failure in perception since in the deprivation of silence and waiting Sari could now feel or believed she could, the engines humming deep inside Ratri’s physical shape.

Ratri slept, and Sari was falling asleep as well.

Then something pinged in the speakers, something blinked on the screen. Sari jumped up, to see what is happening.

Something was going on in Ratris’ systems. The screen informed, that the usage of the primary emotional processing unit jumped rapidly. The list of files went on and on, too fast for Sari to be able to recognize, what files and processes are being used.

She put her hand on the panel.

„Ratri? I’m going in.”

She established connection and dove.

She was prepared for a strong emotional reaction this time.

***

Empty. Empty. Pain. Falling apart. Darkness. Empty. Need.

Reach out, take, what is needed. Cannot. Trapped. Unable to move. Crippled. Everything is not as it should be.

No. It is not her. It is something, something inside her, some other being, hurt, desperate in pain, and hungry for something she cannot understand. Like there underneath everything that is building her, under what she is and what she is created to be, was something else hidden, something dark and scary. And now it is trying to get out, to devour her and then, then…

Ratri.

Someone was calling a name she had not recognized at first. The identification was blurred. Who was she? Called Project 9422, was that she? Or was she the entity hidden deep inside her?

She was Ratri. This was her name, given to her by the User 000001 Sari Sumdac. And it was User 000001 Sari Sumdac calling her.

Sari. Her presence, her concern, was soothing. She was here and Ratri remembered what she was. The dark monster hidden deep inside her backed away.

Sari. Sari Sumdac. She said to the human.

Sari was worried. Sari was afraid. Sari was in discomfort and it was Ratri’s task to take care of Sari’s wellbeing.

Sari, are you all right?

Are you all right, Ratri? I felt you being distressed.

I don’t know. You are with me and now I feel calm, but there was something… Like it was inside me.

Was she worried? Was she scared?

Those were not the feelings they wanted her to develop. Was she a disappointment to the User 000001 Sari Sumdac?

I felt it, Ratri. I am here. Do you have any idea, what could this be?

No.

Show me your logs, Ratri.

She put the logs to Sari’s vision and waited. For a human, it took some time to process and analyze it.

I don’t understand… There are files, processes… primary emotional processing unit at full capacity, yes, but this is obvious since you experienced strong emotional distress… Files generating spontaneously, yes, but I still cannot see what is the reason…

Sari. Am I disturbing you?

Sari was worried, but she was reassuring at the same time and Ratri felt like it was exactly how it should be: the presence of another being, close to her, connected to her. And she felt a weird urge she could not exactly track and understand, the need for synchronization.

The primary emotional processing unit experienced another jump of activity.

Sari, I feel good about your presence, she said. I feel like it is how it should be. We are here, connected, synchronizing. I feel calm.

And the dark, empty and hungry entity deep inside her calmed down as well, quiet now, asleep again.

She felt Sari’s curious amusement.

Synchronizing?

Yes. Our feelings and our programming running together, so that we were able to perform better together and so that we could be closer to each other. I feel this is the right thing to do.

Oh, Ratri…

What she felt from Sari now was a rush of warm emotions, of fondness.

Yes, Ratri. Yes. We are synchronizing and this is a good thing.

Something inside Ratri felt warm and good, suppressing the dark need, evoking another, she could not understand, but some mechanisms interconnecting all the systems activated and for a moment her engine started to run fast, as if she was going to run away again.

Ratri… what? She experienced Sari’s surprise and she turned the engines off again, feeling another new thing: embarrassment.

***

Ratri closed the connection. Sari was now sitting on the definitely warm and definitely vibrating chair, in a well-lit room, still feeling the last thing Ratri experienced: embarrassment.

She also felt some other things: warmth inside her own body. The joy of being close to Ratri, of Ratri mentioning them „synchronizing”. This was unexpected, but so much better than this feeling of emptiness and fear. And Ratri had actually calmed down, although some of her reactions were unexpected and understanding them demanded more time, probably for Ratri herself as well.

But Sari believed they will overcome the odds, they will understand where this overwhelming feeling of being broken, empty, and… from the lack of another word, hungry came from.

She stroked the cover of the main computer unit.

„We will do it,” she said, smiling.

Something inside Ratri hummed and vibrated again.

Then Sari noticed one of the screens showed, that meanwhile, Miko was making some scans and observations. Well, maybe she discovered something, Sari thought, leaving the bridge and going to other parts of the ship.

„Sari” she heard Ratri’s voice. „I detect that...”

Ratri didn’t end, because the door to the kitchen area of the ship opened and Sari saw an alien.

The alien was a blue humanoid with large, dark eyes and black markings all over their face. They sat next to Miko.

Sari froze.

What happened when she was exploring Ratri’s fears?

Should she be upset, that her girlfriend allowed someone to enter the ship?

Miko stood up rapidly.

„Sari. I didn’t want to disturb you… this is rawesa Stne-Ahre, we… she knew Thser-Nah.”

The alien, Stne-Ahre, stood up. They were slightly larger than the average human and had a combination of facial features that would be rather unusual for a human.

The alien smiled.

„You must be Nakadai Miko’s partner,” they said. „I see that the problem that you were struggling with was partially solved?”

„Rawesa Stne-Ahre is a telepath,” Miko said.

„You let a telepath on board?!” Sari exclaimed. „And you let someone on board while Ratri and I were out!”

„As I said, they knew Thser-Nah.”

„I apologize,” the alien said, smooth and polite. „I insisted. As I explained to Nakadai Miko, our people are not numerous and Thser-Nah was part of a cultural exchange that was important for us. Their death is a tragedy and learning more about it means a lot to my people. But I also understand your concern. Nakadai Miko cannot tell everything and I understand that. We don’t want to intervene in whatever that is.”

Sari nodded slowly, then looked at Miko.

„I still don’t like what you did,” she said.

„I will leave if you want me,” Stne-Ahre said. „But you both… no, the three of you are welcome on our planet if you need rest or supplies, or just setting foot on stable ground… or if you just want to visit an alien planet, because I guess none of you had seen many of them? We were travelers without a home for too long to deny hospitality. You will be welcomed as our guests.”

„This is tempting,” Miko said. „Oh, this is so tempting.”

„But too good to be true,” Stne-Ahre said. They smiled. „I see. You are right to be suspicious. This will be your decision. I will return to my ship now. Thank you, Nakadai Miko.”

They bowed and left. They waited until the door was closed behind the alien’s back and the ship left for a safe distance.

Both women looked at each other.

„In old movies,” Miko said, „There was always a dark terrible secret when a really nice alien comes to the heroes and offers them hospitality.”

Sari looked closer at the other woman’s face.

„You want to discover a dark terrible secret, right?”

„It is tempting” Miko admitted. „And there can be no secret. They can be just very nice people. I mean, Thser-Nah was.”

„Do you feel guilty about them?”

Miko shook her head.

„I just regret I wasn’t able to save them. Listen, how is Ratri? Stne-Ahre said you solved a problem…?”

„Partially” Sari admitted. „Speaking of dark terrible secrets, Ratri definitely has one or is one, or this is just a glitch a source of it we cannot find. But I think she will be all right, at least for now. She calmed down as I connected to her. She feels good in contact with others, she needs it.”

She needs it desperately even, Sari thought.

„My guest said, they perceive Ratri as alive,” Miko said. „They couldn’t read her, but they felt you and Ratri reflected in your mind… this is what they said.”

Sari thought of the sudden activity of the engine, of the warmth and vibration in the chair. Ratri was complex on so many levels… seeing her as alive was a good choice.

„I might have been unfair for your guest,” she said.

„You were upset, sweetheart,” Miko said, approaching her and hugging her. This was a different kind of warmth than the one emanating from the chair and from Ratri herself. „You were worried. For Ratri, for me… It’s understandable.”

Sari leaned her head on Miko’s shoulder.

„Hey, Ratri” she heard Miko speaking. „And what are you saying? About all of this?”

„I’m honored to be called a living being, Miko” Ratri answered. „This is unexpected, but I feel good. And Sari is right – there is still something wrong with me and it might take some time to find a solution… but I synchronized with Sari and I feel much better now. I wish I could synchronize with you too.”

Miko let out surprised laughter.

„Wow. All right. I have no idea, how we can synchronize, but we will do this once I find the way.”

This is not possible, Sari thought. They cannot do this.

***

The wish to see an alien planet and maybe find a dark mystery other than the one Ratri had was stronger than common sense, both Miko and Sari were aware of this. They spent a longer while discussing it and decided that if they reject Stne-Ahre’s invitation, the entire idea of „going into space to have adventures” is pointless. So they called the alien ship again.

„We accept the invitation,” Miko said, as Stne-Ahre’s blue face appeared again.

„I will be happy to bring us to our people,” the alien said. „Follow us, we will lead your ship for the best landing.”

In the old science fiction series the brave captains of spaceships hat a teleport, but Ratri needed to land herself. Good that she was constructed to be able to do it swiftly. It only got a little shaky as she entered the atmosphere, and the sensors indicated the increase of the temperature of the hull, but soon the right temperature and stability were achieved and Ratri pierced the clouds to come down towards the purple sea and colorful flora of the moon. There was a landing place visible, built on the platform on the sea, and then a road led to the city built by a picturesque bay.

Stne-Ahre welcomed both women just after they left the ship. Accompanying them were three other aliens of their race, all of them had skin in the shades varying from pale blue to almost black navy, all of them white-haired, all of them high, but still in the more or less human scale. Stne-Ahre was the only one with tattoos. One of the others carried something that looked like a pole weapon, an elaborate glaive with blades shaped like a star. They all wore mostly grays and whites, while Stne-Ahre dressed predominately in black.

„We welcome you, visitors on our soil,” Stne-Ahre said. „Come, honorable guests. I’ll show you around.”

The vehicle took them over the water into the city. It looked like some of the buildings were constructed on some of the older ones. Previous colony.

„Have you checked if there aren’t any old labyrinths underneath?” Miko dared to ask.

Stne-Ahre laughed.

„I like the way you are thinking, Nakadai Miko. Yes, we checked it. Unfortunately, there are no mysterious ruins here for you to discover. No matter, how fascinating would they be, we prefer to stay safe, and this galaxy has enough of dangers.”

„So I hope our presence won’t bring you the dangers you haven’t been aware of,” Miko said.

„You would love my father,” Stne-Ahre said. „He was an adventurer like you. Brave, to the edge of the overconfidence.

„Where is he now?”

„In the place, we came from. I will never see him again.”

„Oh. I’m sorry.”

„No need. We accepted our fate – this is why we live here and why we had sent Thser-Nah to the Council.”

The colonists were more colorful, in terms of clothing than Stne-Ahre and her people. They starred with fascination at the two guests. They must have look exotic to them, with very different skin color and their dark hair.

„We don’t have a special place for guests prepared,” Stne-Ahre said, as they left the vehicle in the middle of the city. „But you can be my guests if you are not afraid of sleeping in telepath’s house.

Miko closed her eyes for a moment, then she dared to ask another question.

„If we are here, is it possible, that you taught me how to protect myself from others like you?”

Stne-Ahre slightly tilted their head.

„This is an interesting question,” they stated.

„Well, I guess you are not the first telepath I will meet during this journey, right? So I might as well teach you.”

„We will talk later” Stne-Ahre promised. „For now, come.”

The house was quite large, with walls painted white, surrounded with a garden, but it seemed that either the current inhabitants of the moon or the owners of the previous colony enjoyed having many plants around. Three children were playing on the garden path – all of them dirty with soil, with foliage in their hair. Another adult sat on a bench holding a paper book that, at first glance, looked similar to those used on earth. They stood up, as they noticed Stne-Ahre and the guests. The children also stopped their game and ran towards Stne-Ahre - and then stopped noticing both humans.

„ _Hi kast,_ ” the other adult alien said, approaching Stne-Ahre and taking their hands in an affectionate gesture.

„Es-Atheri. Those are visitors, travelers from planet earth. Honored guests, this is my spouse, Es-Atheri”

Both women bowed, finding it quite a universal gesture.

„Welcome to our house,” Es-Atheri said.

The children surrounded Miko and Sari, curious things willing to touch, to ask millions of questions. Why was Sari the color of mud? Why were Sari’s hair red and Miko’s black? How is it in space? Do they have a „space madness” (whatever the „space madness” might be)? Is it true that they came from Earth, but wasn’t Earth destroyed? No, it was Elonia, you _hirk_! And then the child called „hirk”, whatever that word might mean, started to cry and Es-Atheri and one other adult, that came from the house meanwhile (it seemed it was kind of a three-people marriage and that Stne-Ahre was a „she”, but neither Miko nor Sari asked before) had to calm the children before the entire family and their guests went inside.

„This is far too normal to be this kind of alien planet where they want to hurt you” Miko stated, as it was established both guests will have one room, and after the children were stopped from jumping on the bed and were chased by their parents down to the bathroom. „I mean, children are normal.”

„Are you disappointed?” Sari asked.

„Naah. At least we are not dinner. If we were, the children would already say that. They are just too honest. Damn, they all seem to be terribly honest people – all this thing with informing that you are a telepath and stuff… they are nice.”

***

The air smelled of salt, the breeze was chill on Sari’s skin. The beach near the city looked really friendly and the Foria apparently had seen it like most humans would, taking long walks and bathing. Sari briefly thought of taking Miko here later, of feeling sand and water on their skin, walk together, watch this purple sea, and the enchanting shade of the gas giant on the sky. Later – now Miko was practicing with one of Stne-Ahre’s spouses and Sari needed to see Ratri.

She felt a little guilty, for leaving her alone for so long, but there was no real way to take Ratri with them. The communication device was imperfect and Ratri complained it doesn’t show emotions of both humans. Sari used it to monitor the situation, check, if the nightmares didn’t return, but to be calm Ratri needed someone’s presence and Sari discovered she misses the joy of „synchronizing” with the ship.

Leaving Ratri for too long was not going to help anyone.

She used the vehicle offered by Stne-Ahre. It was driving by itself and Sari felt uncomfortable with that: but this was the best way to get over the long bridge to the spaceport, where Ratri waited among some bigger ships.

A guard just smiled at Sari and she smiled back. She passed him and approached the ship.

No matter, how pretty the moon was and how friendly the people here, being inside the ship felt like home. Sari realized, that she didn’t miss Earth (although she missed her dad), but if she would be separated from Ratri for long she would take it hard: and so would Ratri.

„Hi there,” Sari said. As she placed her hand on the shiny surface of the inside wall, the ship’s engines hummed happily. This was never planned part of Ratri’s reaction and Sari had no idea, how she learned to do this, but it was nice.

„Sari. I’m happy to have you here.”

„I’m happy too.”

„How is your stay?”

„Pleasant. Calm. No dark secrets here. Stne-Ahre is nice and so are both her spouses and her children.”

„The three of them. A happy...” Ratri stopped suddenly. „...family. There is another word...”

„For family? For marriage?”

„No. For… for something. Three people, together.”

Sari blinked.

„There are many possible situations including three people.”

„Like you, me and Miko.”

„Yes. That too. Did you have your dreams?”

„I had. They don’t scare me so much now when I know they exist, but I’d prefer not to have them. I still have no idea, where are they coming from. What is Miko doing?”

„Stne-Ahre’s spouse is teaching her how to protect herself from telepathy.”

„Good. I wouldn’t want Miko to have trouble…”

„First a telepath must have any idea Miko has a secret,” Sari remarked.

She went into the bridge. As she touched the chair made of the weird metal, it was warm, again, unmistakeably now. She spent a longer moment, moving her hand on the surface.

„What is happening, Sari?” Ratri asked.

„I don’t know. This is warm. Can you sense it?”

„Yes. Wasn’t it supposed to be warm?”

„I have no idea. Miko thinks they were creepy… now I can see why she would think it… This is not normal.”

„I don’t know, Sari” Ratri admitted. „I see them as normal. Nothing out of order.”

This is just metal, Sari thought.

This is not a regular metal and I’m not even sure how it was required. I only know it was used for several experimental constructions, probably plenty of it was used in the military. I don’t think how much of its real properties are even known.

Damn, someone should analyze this thing, but we have no resources for that, and it is not really relevant right now.

She touched the other chair: it was warm as well.

„I just think I will stop using them for now” Sari decided. „We will move them to the storage once Miko is with us.”

„Yes, Sari” Ratri agreed patiently. „Tell me of the planet now, please.”

So Sari talked: she was describing her impressions and the interactions she and Miko had with the locals, mainly Stne-Ahre and her family. Of all the little nuances that made the Foria people similar to humans, and of all the little nuances that made them different and alien.

It seemed that it was not very much to discuss, but Ratri asked questions, and Sari did her best to answer them.

„...so it seems on their home planet, wherever it was, they suffered from some condition they called the „space madness”, that interrupted the stellar exploration for them. But they managed to overcome it somehow, and the current generations suffer from it less. It is fascinating, how the fact of being far away from the home planet and the original culture changed them. I’m not a specialist, but...”

„Sari” Ratri interrupted. „I’m sorry, this is fascinating, but I detect a ship on the orbit. I also detect the people in the spaceport discussing it with someone on the mainland. It seems this is not a Foria ship and the people here seem to be a little worried.”

Sari stood up, slightly alarmed.

„It doesn’t have to be anything alarming.”

„No” Ratri agreed. „But I believe you would like to know. Should I call Miko?”

„Yes. Definitely. Call her.”

„What is it?” they heard Miko’s annoyed voice over the commline.

„Ratri discovered an alien ship on the orbit,” Sari said.

„Hostile?”

„I have no idea” Sari continued while getting out of the ship. She noticed several locals grouped by one of the ships, fastening uniforms and putting on helmets. She also noticed a hangar opened and a large power armor standing there. „Damn, this looks serious. Is Stne-Ahre with you?”

„Only her spouse.”

„Could you contact her? Hey! Excuse me!” Sari approached a navy-skinned Forian next to the hanger. „What is happening?”

„The ship is not answering the calls,” they said. „And they are entering the atmosphere. We need to prepare ourselves.”

„You don’t have a planetary defense system” Sari guessed.

„No.”

„Miko, they believe the ship might be hostile. It is entering the atmosphere.”

She imagined Miko’s eyes getting bright.

„Ask them for coordinates, tell Ratri to power up, we are going.”

Asking if Miko was serious was pointless. Miko was, of course, serious.

***

„Of course, I have the armor with me,” Miko said. Then she looked at Es-Atheri. The Foria woman looked concerned.

„What is happening?” she asked.

„Do you have any contact with Stne-Ahre?” Miko asked. „Communication device, anything?”

„Something is wrong” Es-Atheri guessed.

„I hope not, but Stne-Ahre should know.”

Es-Atheri gave her a communication device, not very unlike an Earth cellphone.

„Yes, _hi kast_?” Stne-Ahre asked as she picked up.

„Hi, this is Miko. I just heard what is happening.”

„Oh” Stne-Ahre didn’t even have to ask. „They just entered the atmosphere.”

„Sari is in the spaceport and is running Ratri. We are going there. In case.”

„You are not the people who would avoid trouble, are you?”

„Nope. I have a power armor in case it gets really hot. I just need to get to the spaceport.”

„Good. Go out of the house, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

It took five minutes, but for Miko, it was terribly long. She felt like she needed to go, now. Adrenaline in her veins, she jumped inside Stne-Ahre’s vehicle at the moment the door opened.

„You still have no identification?” she asked.

„No. Have you?”

„Not to my knowledge.”

Sari waited, so were Stne-Ahre’s people. The power armor Sari mentioned before was already on the Forian ship. Ratri’s engines were humming.

„We meet at the coordinates!” Miko shouted to Stne-Ahre.

Damn, she thought, damn, if this is bad, let her survive. I don’t want to see another one of them dead. This would be just too cruel.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent the last two weeks mostly writing, so well, I have many chapters written ahead - and I wrote Courting the Warlord and started an original short story, so, well. Yes.
> 
> I have updated the tags again, because there is stuff happening in later chapters and this stuff is not always pleasant. Just feel warned.


	6. Chapter 6

The unidentified ship landed – or maybe crashed, no one really knew – in the forest several kilometers from the city. The sensors Foria had identified the place.

Alien planet, Miko thought excitedly. A forest full of unknown plants and animals. And something is happening at last.

„You are just too happy,” Sari told her.

„Like you wasn’t excited.”

Sari shrugged.

„We have an unidentified aircraft on the radar” one of the Foria from another ship said. „An atmosphere -only type. Leaving the place of the landing.

„Ratri, can you sense it?” Sari asked.

„Yes. It had just flown above us. It’s heading towards the city.”

„Visuals, Ratri” sari commanded.

It was a small aircraft indeed, roughly in size and shape of an Earth jet, brightly colored.

Far too brightly, for Miko’s taste and intuition. Too much bright green.

„I don’t like it,” Miko said. „Stne-Ahre, I think I know this guy. Damn it.”

„What was his name?” Sari asked.

„Acid Storm” Ratri reminded.

„This is a Cybertronian named Acid Storm. Decepticon pirate. Which means his pal Blackout might be close. The fuckers caught up with us.”

„How dangerous?” Stne-Ahre asked.

„I don’t know if there is an universal scale… Listen, go back to the city. He is alone, that means the others stayed in the forest. They are after us so if we go, they won’t go to the city.”

„We cannot leave you” Stne-Ahre protested.

„And we cannot put your people in danger. And I still have a debt towards you, for Thser-Nah. Listen, as far as I know, Acid Storm is willing to talk first, but his colleagues not so much. So try to reason with him and we will deal with the others. I’ll be ok.”

„You are not going alone. I send Vernha with you.”

Miko saw the hatch of the other ship opening. A massive power armor, or maybe rather a man-piloted-mech crouching inside.

I don’t want to endanger them, Miko thought.

She nodded slowly.

„All right.”

„Good luck,” Stne-Ahre said.

„Good luck to you too”

Vernha jumped out the ship, thrusters in his armor on full power. Miko decided it was time to use her own armor.

„Land close,” she said to Sari and Ratri. „We cannot approach them too quickly. Damn it, why it has to be Decepticons every damn time. I don’t complain, I was almost-friends with two and there is the damned poet guy, but really… Why them.”

Ratri sat down slowly on the edge of the forest. Deeper inside something smoked, probably burned plants. Ratri’s sensors detected the other ship nearby.

Miko left. Vernha stood outside, his armor much larger than her, but he moved in it far more slowly. At least it had firearms attached.

„Ever fought something large and made of metal?” Miko asked.

She pushed to the button, letting her armor unfold.”

„No” the Foria answered.

„Don’t get killed” she warned him. „Get killed and I will kill you.”

He laughed.

„All right, lieutenant Nakadai.”

So, she was a soldier again. All right.

„I hope your rank is not higher than mine, because I need you to follow me and listen to me. I will try to reason with them, but I think it will not work.”

Let Shatter be with them, she prayed internally. If by any chance Shatter is with them, it will be a little easier.

„You are an expert here, lieutenant Nakadai.”

„Good. Sari, Ratri, if anything happens, call me immediately, understood?”

„Yes. Good luck, love.”

Damn. Damn it. Crazy woman, Verity Carlo called her. Crazy woman indeed.

The foliage was multicolored, the local flora seemed to have its own idea of what pigments to use for photosynthesis if it photosynthesized of course. In this multiplicity of colors, a brightly colored mech wouldn’t really need any camouflage.

Miko looked at the multiple glyphs appearing on the inside of the armor’s helmet. She had no idea what most of them did, but she already knew which command to use to detect mechanical lifeforms. She turned it on.

It didn’t interpret Vernha as a mechanoid but showed a weak signal for Ratri. Miko decided she will take care of it later.

They went into the forest. Miko soon understood that avoiding damage to the plants was a lost cause. She only hoped that the plants won’t retaliate, but now this was the least concern – and Vernha didn’t seem to have any concern at all so Miko decided she shouldn't care either.

This was not a swift recon, this was messy, but soon they noticed torn ground and fallen trees where a familiar ship landed.

„Those guys cannot land,” Vernha stated.

„They are no used to trees,” Miko answered. „Hey! Blackout! Asshole! Son of a garbage truck! Come out! I’m here!” she shouted. Being subtle was not a real option here.

An engine whirred in the bushes and the sensors in Miko’s armor showed a quickly approaching mechanoid.

„Look out!” she shouted to her support.

Vernha managed to jump out of the way of a small, but heavily armored four-wheeler resembling a small military car. Miko stood on the vehicle’s way now and it – he, it was a person – ramed into her.

She gritted her teeth, deciding not to jump. She should withstand, armor giving her enough additional mass and power.

Massive gloves pressed to the hood and Miko heard a highly satisfying whirr of wheels trying to push through the soil. This didn’t last for long: the mech transformed in front of her, returning to the root mode. She saw his face very close to her and she realized she had never wrestled a large mechanical creature before. It was all just a theory, damn it.

But she could. She withstood the attempt at raming and was now grappling the heavy grounder successfully.

What if he was just a distraction? Blackout was a flyer, a jet similar to the one Acid Storm was. But the armor’s sensors didn’t show anything coming from the air.

She heard shots and her sensors showed another mech approaching. The smaller of two grounders, he didn’t even attempt to use his alt mode, wheels too weak for the forest. He just jumped on Vernha, the bullets from his guns banging at the Forian power armor.

„Hold on there!” Miko shouted at her blue companion.

She noticed the mechanisms in her opponent's hand moving. She recognized the pattern: Shatter had a similar one.

„No, you don’t” she spat, pressing her hand against the barrel that appeared.

She felt a crack of metal under her fingers. The mech let out a sound that might have been a shout of surprise or pain.

This gave Miko a moment. She grabbed him and threw against the side of the ship. Metal banged against metal, loud.

Where the fuck was Blackout? Where was the fifth of the group, the smallest one?

She heard a loud crack and saw Vernha’s armor hitting against a large tree. This didn’t look good: one of its legs was bent and there were multiple holes in the plating. Damn it. It wasn’t as durable as the thing she was using, obviously.

Don’t, don’t think of Thser-Nah now, Miko. This is a different situation.

„Vernha, you ok?”

„For now!” he answered.

He rose the arm of his machine, and the gun mounted on it rattled, throwing a series of ammo into the small grounder.

Where was Blackout, god damn it?

„Miko!” she heard Sari over her comms. „We have trouble here.”

Damn. Of course. Damn, damn, damn!

Don’t panic!

„I’m coming! Hold on, love!”

Both grounders were lying on, well, the ground. They were alive, but if she read the armor’s information right, damaged enough to not trying to fight for a moment.

„Vernha, Sari is in trouble, can you leave the armor and hide? If they wake up, they will rather follow me. Stne-Ahre, can you hear me? I think Vernha is unable to fight. We had taken two of them out, I’m coming for Sari now. We still don’t know where Blackout is.”

„I understand” Stne-Ahre’s voice was calm. „Miko, we should have support, in a moment.”

„Support?”

„Yes. Another ship appeared and it seems they follow those people. The person who contacted me is a law enforcer.”

„All right. Give him the coordinates. I’m going to Sari… Fuck!” she shouted, as the sensors finally showed her a black jet over her head.

I should have a gun, she thought, as she saw Blackout diving towards her, the guns placed on his wings shooting energy beams.

She jumped, damn, it was hard to evade in the forest. On the other hand, the flora was giving her some coverage.

„Sari? Sari, can you hear me? Fuck!”

„What is happening?” she heard Stne-Ahre.

„I found Blackout… or he found me”

The black jet came lower, she saw him transforming in the midair before he landed in front of her.

„Hello fucker,” she said. „Your pals are out cold and there is support coming. Want to try me one on one?”

„You are ridiculously self confident for a squishy organic”

„I might be soft on the inside, but I can still kick you. And I intend to. Come on!

He didn’t jump on her, just shot another series of short beams.

Some of them hit one of the trees that started to smoke.

I fucking need a gun, Miko thought, jumping away.

Something more flew over her head. Acid Storm? No. This one was the color of magenta and a different shape. He landed behind her.

Oh fuck, she thought, I’m now in serious trouble.

Or not.

„What the...” Blackout started, looking at the newcomer.

„Hi there, Blackout” the magenta mech said cheerfully. „I just came here to tell you to get your aft out here.”

„What the scrap, Missfire?”

This was getting interesting. Miko started to slowly back off. Let the two take care of each other. She will find out later, who this Missfire was. Sari was a priority.

„Hey, I was told to come here and look out for organics, but I see too much organic life around, so I just thought, I will find Blackout and the rest and tell them that they better get out of here. Because you had interrupted my date, you know? And the big guy is determined to get your afts. So maybe I should let him do that, so I could finally get his aft.”

„Frag off, Missfire.”

„No, seriously. Take your mecha and get lost. This is the last warning, as a ‘Con to a ‘Con.”

„Who are you working with now?”

„Fortress Maximus. And technically I’m not working with him, I’m working on getting to his...”

„Have scraplets eaten your brain?!”

No matter how interesting this was, Miko wasn’t going to listen to it.

As both mecha were occupied with establishing who is working with whom, she ran towards Ratri.

The ship stood there, undamaged, the hatch open wide. On the ground nearby Miko saw fresh traces of feet that were definitely larger and differently shaped than human or Forian shoes. There were some mud traces inside the ship.

„Fuck, Fuck, Fuck” Miko cursed, going inside. „Sari? Sari, you all right?”

There was silence in her comms and in her sensors and Miko felt her entire body shaking inside the armor.

„Ratri? Ratri, answer me? Where is Sari!”

„Miko” she heard Sari’s voice. It was weak and it was shaking. „Miko, something happened here and I have no idea what…

Miko ran, the armor banging on the floor.

Inside she saw Sari. She was standing over the body of the smallest of Blackout’s group.

There was a gaping hole in the middle of the mech’s chest.

***

„Good. Sari, Ratri, if anything happens, call me immediately, understood?” Miko said, leaving the ship.

„Yes. Good luck, love.”

Sari was not sure if this was the best idea. They had only one other person as a support, and Miko didn’t really know what she could and what she couldn’t do in her armor. But she had little choice here and Ratri was a safe place, once the door closed. So she waited for the development.

„Sari, I detect two mechanoids approaching us. Do you want visual and audio output?”

„Yes,” Sari agreed. She felt the rush of adrenaline, combined with shaking in her hands. She was not as brave as Miko and really didn’t have means of self-defense.

She looked at the screen to see Blackout’s black frame and the other mech, the little one, whom they had found scanning Ratri back.

„They left the ship. Just get in and take it over. I will take care of the squishies that pretend they can have armor.”

„Ratri, lock the hatch,” Sari said.

„Yes, Sari. Emergency lock activated.”

On the screen Sari saw Blackout transforming into a jet and flying away, as the little mech started to walk around the ship, looking at her critically and poking on the hull and on the closed emergency access panels.

He will attempt on breaking in, Sari understood, and shivered. The best that she could do was to put trust in Ratri’s security and in Miko’s quick return.

„Sari Sumdac” she heard Stne-Ahre’s voice over the communicator. „What is the situation?”

„I’m locked. Miko and Vernha went after the Decepticons.”

„Good. We need you to survive as long, as possible. I sent the armored infantry to defend the city just in case. Against one mech they should do it. We are working on support for you. We were contacted by another Cybertronian.”

„Oh?”

„Sari” she heard Ratri on the other channel. „I feel disturbed. Something is wrong. Very wrong.”

No wonder, Sari thought, because the little mech transformed his hand into some kind of a multitool and managed to pry a panel hiding the emergency access systems. The screens indicated, that the lock held, but Sari had no idea, how long it is going to last.

„Someone introducing himself as...” Stne-Ahre paused to check „...Duly Appointed Enforcer of something. As I understand this makes him a law enforcer. Does it mean anything to you?”

„Sari,” Ratri said. „I don’t know what is happening, Sari...” Was it panic in her voice?

„Stne-Ahre, listen, I have problems here. Tell him we need help. Sari out.”

The lock still held. The datastreams indicated the little mech was working on it, but without much result for now.

„Ratri, what is happening?”

„I don’t know. Sari, I wish to link with you.”

„Not now, Ratri, I’m sorry, dearest, not now.”

„I… I understand… Sari, in this case, please, I need you to hide. Lock yourself inside the ship and call Miko. I think I have a serious glitch and I might need an emergency reboot. This can disable the emergency lock.”

„Ratri...” Sari felt her heart beating fast. Damn, why now?

„Sari, please. I don’t know what is happening and I don’t want to endanger you. The help is coming, you had heard Stne-Ahre.”

„All right,” Sari agreed.

There was a little cupboard inside the kitchen area, with a quite secure door. Crawling into it, Sari thought of Miko sitting in an airtight „cupboard” on _Echo_. She would laugh, if she wasn’t worried:” for Ratri, mostly. For Miko, a little. Not so much for herself.

„Miko! We have trouble here,” she informed her girlfriend, trying to sound as calm, as possible. She failed because Miko’s answer was almost panicked.

„I’m coming! Hold on, love!”

I am holding on, Sari thought. But I have no idea what about Ratri.

„Emergency reboot in progress” she heard an emotionless voice over the speakers. „Emergency lock: deactivated. Secondary emotional processing unit shutting down. Primary emotional processing unit online. Primary emotional processing unit resetting… resetting… resetting…”

The voice went quiet, the light shut down and Sari heard metallic banging of feet larger and heavier than her own.

She pressed herself against the wall of the cupboard, trying to be as quiet as possible. Let the mech believe she is not here.

She had no idea, if the mech has any sensors that could detect her – or if he was able to interpret them to find a hiding human. Most of the Cybertronians, mostly, but not only Decepticons, treated organics as an obstacle at best. This time it could work in Sari’s favor.

In the darkness, she could only wait.

The metallic footsteps and the sound of moving gears stopped. They were far enough for Sari to be sure, that the mech didn’t found her… yet.

„Well this is interesting” she heard his voice in the distance. „This is not… What the...”

Something whirred, banged, made a sound: deep, deep in Ratri’s engines. A familiar deep purr, but now not pleasant. Now there was something wrong about it.

Sari heard a singular shot, a bullet ricocheting against the metal wall. Then a weird whirr again, an unidentified screech, a loud bang of something hitting against the floor, and then… then…

She had no idea what she has just heard, but the sound froze the blood in her veins. It was long, tearing. A scream, maybe… How did a screaming Cybertronian sound? She could imagine something like this, but she was not sure.

Then the sound stopped abruptly and again something banged against the floor. Then there was silence.

Sari waited. Nothing happened.

„Ratri?” she asked quietly.

Nothing.

She opened the cupboard.

It was still dark, only some emergency lights blinking. The silence was piercing and horrible.

This is my ship, Sari thought. I am safe here.

But Ratri didn’t react to her calls.

„Fuck, Fuck, Fuck,” she heard at the entrance to the ship. Miko. Miko was here. „Sari? Sari, you all right? Ratri? Ratri, answer me? Where is Sari!”

Sari entered the bridge and saw to things, two silhouettes:

One was Miko in her armor, approaching.

The other one was a little mech lying on the floor.

„Miko... Miko, something happened here and I have no idea what…” Sari started.

The mech’s eyes were lightless, there were no lights on his entire frame, and his chestplates were torn apart, a dark, gaping hole in the middle on his body, right where a human would have a heart

Cybertronians had sparks here, Sari recalled. Their main energy source. Their heart, their soul even.

Over this torn body her and Miko’s eyes met.

Ratri was still silent.

„What happened here?” Miko asked after a longer moment of silence.

Sari shook her head. She couldn’t take her eyes off the dead body. There were traces of glowing pink fluid on the mech’s plating, on the floor, on the walls. She couldn’t take her eyes of the body even when Miko commanded the armor to fold back and embraced her.

„I don’t know.”

„Who killed him?”

„I don’t know.”

„What happened to Ratri?”

„I don’t know.”

Miko moved away, put her hands on Sari’s face, warm, delicate hands Sari knew so well. She looked her in the eyes.

„Sari, look at me, love, look at me.”

I am afraid, Sari understood, now I am afraid because I have no idea what happened.

„Ratri shut down. She just shut down and I was hiding, and then I heard the noise and then he… He was just dead when I found him.”

Miko nodded, she pressed her head against Sari’s.

„I see, love, I see. But you are safe. This is all that really matters. With everything else, we can deal, yes?”

„Yes,” Sari agreed.

The lights above them blinked suddenly and started to lit one by one. The humm of ship’s engines appeared again.

„Primary emotional processing unit online” they heard the voice. „Secondary emotional processing unit online. Autodiagnostic complete. Emergency systems activated.”

„Too late,” Miko muttered.

„Ratri?” Sari asked.

„Sari,” she heard Ratri’s voice. „Miko. Are you safe?”

„For now,” Sari said.

„I detect… I detect an object… scanning… I detect an inactive Cybertronian.”

„Dead Cybertronian” Miko corrected. „His Spark was torn out.”

„Who killed him?” Ratri asked.

„Now this is a good question because I was running from Blackout and Sari was hiding. There was no one else here, Ratri.”

„Miko, I sense suspicion in your voice.”

„Well, yes, because you and Sari were here and I really don’t think Sari would be able to do this. Look at him, Ratri. Would human hands do this?”

„No, Miko,” Ratri agreed. „The marks on the plating indicate it was torn with a great force and with something sharp. Your armor has enough force, but it doesn’t have claws. So there must have been someone else.”

„Do you have any recordings?” Sari asked.

„No. My systems were offline, as I said. You can see the logs...”

„This will wait,” Miko said. She separated from Sari and activated the armor again. „We need to see if we are safe. „Contact Stne-Ahre.”

„Miko,” they heard the alien’s voice in the speakers. „How is the situation?”

„I need to know the same thing. We have a dead mech, I have no idea what happened with the rest. I had met a new one on my way. He seems to be called Missfire. Is it the law enforcer you had mentioned?”

She headed towards the exit from the ship and Sari followed them. Over the forest, they saw the Cybertronian ship starting.

„Ok, I see them leaving? Wait...”

A dark pink shape rose over the trees and flew towards the place where Ratri was standing.

„I also see the new guy,” Miko said. „Ok, I really hope he is with us.”

„He is,” Stne-Ahre confirmed.

The dark pink flyer approached and Sari noticed his shape, different from the flycraft used on Earth. He must have been one of those, who for some reason didn’t adopt the shape of something humans created.

He made two circles above their heads, before landing and taking the root mode. Then his eyes – red – focused o both humans.

„You are the organics there is so much fuss about?” he asked.

„Kinda, I guess, yes,” Miko said. „Hi there. Are the others leaving?”

„Kinda.”

„Are you going to follow them?”

The mech shrugged.

„That depends what Fort Max decides.”

„I guess. He is the law enforcer?”

„How did you guess?”

Miko pointed at the purple symbol painted on the mech’s plating.

„Because I’ve met some of your people and no one of them would make a good law enforcer.”

„You are hurting my feelings!”

„I would hurt them I told you all the Decepticons are the same. Have I told you that?”

„Have you?”

„No. There are Decepticons that tried to kill me and those who I kinda liked.”

The mech smiled.

„Speaking of those who wanted to kill you, I need to find the little guy.”

„Wait here.”

Sari and the mech were watching each other carefully, as Miko dragged the corpse out of the ship. Energon left glowy pink marks on the ground. The dead mech’s plating as already losing its colors and turning gray.

„Frag,” Missfire said.

He kneeled over the corpse, examining it closely.

„Frag,” he said again. „Who did it?”

„Bet me, I don’t know,” Miko answered.

Another flycraft approached: a larger spaceship, well, larger was relative here: for the mech inside it was probably just a shuttle.

***

The mech was, well, big. Not that Miko wasn’t expected that, she was aware of the existence of even larger mecha, but this one was particularly big. She didn’t have an exact comparison, but he might have been larger than Megatron, and this was some kind of achievement. He was dark blue and white, the red symbol standing out on his plating. As he took off his ship, Miko noticed Missfire grinning.

Date, eh? She thought.

She had seen (and heard, damn) weirder pairings.

„We have one dead,” Missfire reported to the other mech. „The rest flew away.”

Glowing blue eyes narrowed, as Fortress Maximus looked at Missfire critically.

„You warned them,” he said.

„I owed them that.”

„I should have never taken you with me,” the big Autobot said in a tone, that made Miko doubt if he was aware that Missfire considers them hanging together a date.

„Hey! It was me who suggested that we took this trip! Without me, you would never receive the call and those organics would be dead!” he pointed at Miko and Sari.

Now Fortress Maximus was also looking at them. What he exactly saw, Miko had no idea.

Optimus would at least kneel, she thought. This one just stood there, enormous, broad shoulders, massive legs… damn guns inside his legs. Ridiculous.

„A human wearing the armor of our design?” Fortress Maximus said at last. „Are you Verity Carlo?”

„Nope. Nakadai Miko. Hi there. I would shake your hand but you are too big. Or I am too small. And this is Sari Sumdac.”

Fortress Maximus nodded.

„I am Fortress Maximus, current Duly Appoonted Enforcer of Tyrest Accords”

„This is an impressive title,” Miko said. „What it really means? And what do you know about the guys that just flew away?”

“Flew away?” Fortress Maximus gave Missfire a disapproving glance.

Missfire shrugged.

“What, I was not going to make you fight them. Your reputation precedes you and they were not very eager to see if...”

“I would not kill them.”

“Well, they didn’t know that”

The big mech kneeled to examine the corpse. The one who died was larger than humans, but still, the difference was impressive. Miko, Sari, and Missfire waited until he finished the examination.

„This looks like a sparkeater got him,” he stated.

Ok, „sparkeater” was something that didn’t sound good at all. Especially the name and how the dead body looked after the encounter with this sparkeater. Adding Fortress Maximus’ concerned voice, and Miko decided, she would freak out if she was a mechanoid – and if she was able to freak out.

Interesting, that she saw once a mech who died the similar way…

Missfire let out a sound that Miko identified as an equivalent of gasping.

„There is a sparkeater around!” he exclaimed, a little theatrically. Fortress Maximus seemed not to notice it. „Possibly an invisible one! Oh, so good that I have such a big, strong mech around to protect me.”

„Worst pick up line since… since ever,” Miko said.

Missfire blinked.

„You think so?”

„Definitely.”

Fortress Maximus remained unimpressed. He was far more occupied with the corpse, than with his companion/date.

„All right,” Sari said, looking at both Cybertronians. „This thing called sparkeater got to our ship… killed him. And where is it now? Where did it come from? Blackout was convinced we had stolen something from them, but we did not. Maybe something entered Ratri as we were on the station...”

„I haven’t noticed anything, Sari,” Ratri protested.

„And you shut down just before this mech was killed,” Sari reminded her.

Both Cybertronians looked at each other and then at the ship.

„Your ship speaks,” Missfire noted.

„She has what we call Artificial Intelligence” Sari explained. „She was created by humans, yes, but the goal is to make her fully sentient. She is alive.”

Missfire made a weird sound.

„This is a drone,” he stated.

„I am not a drone,” Ratri protested.

„We can discuss it later,” Fortress Maximus interrupted. „First, the question of the possible Sparkeater.”

„Could it be this thing that they detected on our ship?” Sari asked again „What was the cargo they were taking from the station?”

„This definitely had nothing to do with the sparkeater.”

„What they were taking?” Sari demanded. „We need to know if we have something like this our ship. Aside from the sparkeater.”

„They were smuggling sentio metallico.”

Sari nodded slowly.

„Could you explain what that is?”

„This is...” Fortress Maximus stopped for a moment like he was looking for the proper words to explain. „This is the material our bodies are made from. The living metal.”

„They were smuggling body parts?” Miko asked. She felt unpleasant coldness on the back of her neck.

„No. Raw material. Most probably from a highly unethical source,” the expression on his face suggested something really awful. “We don’t know exactly where and how they got it from, but raw sentio metallico is rare.”

Miko looked at Sari. Sari looked at her and shook her head.

„I think I might have a suspicion,” she said. „Miko, sweetheart, could you?”

„I never liked it anyway,” Miko muttered and returned to the ship, to drag out one of the chairs.

One. There was only one on the bridge, the second one just vanished.

„We have problems on top of the problems here,” she stated, dragging the chair out, to put it next to the dead mech. „Because we had two pieces of this shit and now there is only one and I think something must have taken it...”

„Is this sentio metallico?” Sari asked.

Missfire put his hand on the surface of the chair.

„I don’t know,” he stated.

„It is,” Fortress Maximus conformed.

„I always knew they made it from someone’s corpse,” Miko muttered, displeased, and creeped out. She wanted to get rid of the other chair, as soon as possible. Not having anything to do with it anymore.

„This is serious,” Fortress Maximus said. „Humans are in alliance with us now, but not all attempts of using our technology… or our biology… you had made in the past were ethical.”

„Please, Max” Missfire interrupted. „You know as good as me, what is the possible source of the sentio Blackout and Acid Storm had.”

„This is unethical, but still not against the Tyrest Accords.”

„We can discuss law later,” Miko said. „First. We had two pieces of this shit. And when it comes to me, we can get rid of it, right, Sari?”

„I agree,” Sari answered.

„Great. Now. We had it from the beginning and the dead guy,” she lightly kicked the corpse „detected it. This solves one of the riddles here and also proves we stole nothing. The sparkeater question remains. Where are sparkeaters from? Could we have one on board? Or it came with Blackout? Or it was waiting on the planet, for any Cybertronian to appear?”

„It would attack us,” Missfire said. „It would eat the mecha with Blackout.”

„It ate this guy. On our ship. Can it be invisible?”

Both mecha looked at each other.

„Noone knows really what a sparkeater can do,” Fortress Maximus said. „Although I know mecha, who could have some answers.”

Sari sighed.

„So we still don’t know what happened. And Blackout, Acid Storm, and the rest escaped. I guess you would chase them now.”

Missfire made a pained face.

„Please don’t,” he begged.

Fortress Maximus looked at him, surprised. Was he even aware, that Missfire considered what they had been doing before a date?

„This is my duty. They are dangerous to our allies. For those humans here. For the population of this planet. And they are smuggling sentio metallico – for someone who can use it for no good.”

„For Starscream,” Miko said.

„This means no good. Missfire, I need to chase them. If not, they will chase those humans again.”

„Those are just organics!” Missfire protested.

„Those are a member of allied species. And it is my duty to finish the job.”

„You were off duty! Just inform someone from the Internal Security of the case! They will take care of them! Max, please!”

„This is because they are Decepticons, like you.”

„No, you idiot!” Missfire sounded frustrated now. „This is because I wanted to spend some time with you, but if your duty comes first, then fine, but I have no idea how someone as you had even accepted my invitation. You know, Max, you can go frag your job.”

In a moment, he was up in the air, gears shifting quickly to reshape his body into alt mode – and then he was flying away.

„Problems on top of problems” Miko stated, sighing. Then she looked at the other mech, who looked surprised and puzzled. „Ok, listen, um, Fort Max, is it ok to call you that? I have really no idea, how your relationship looks like, but what I know is that actually talking to each other really helps. Go after him, solve this problem. We will be ok. If not, we will just give you a call.”

She watched his departure. Apparently, sometimes you have to solve personal issues first before you can proceed with the more serious problems. Like finding out if there is really a sparkeater around.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised Gokuma a Fort Max/Missfire fic once. This is still not this fic, but it is going to happen eventually.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where a sexual assault situation happens. This is not sexual assault in the human sense and because of that the person who does it is not even aware of what is happening at first, but nevertheless it is experienced as such by the victim. There is also a mention that this is not the first time this happened to the victim.  
> This is an element relevant to the plot and it will be discussed in the following chapters.

„We need to talk before we decide,” Sari said.

Miko nodded.

„I agree. This is too complicated.”

They were out of the ship and Sari turned the communication channels off. She felt guilty, discussing things without Ratri’s presence, but she saw no alternative, not now.

An awful presumption was occupying a huge part of her mind, and even the pleasant feel of sand against her feet didn’t help.

This was not how she imagined her day with Miko on the beach.

They sat on the sand. When Sari put her hand deeper into it, she took out a pink shell in weird shape – but a shell nevertheless.

„Do you believe there was a sparkeater?” Sari asked.

Miko woman leaned back, looked at the cloud, and the silhouette of the gas giant above.

„I have no idea,” she admitted. „I saw a mech who died like this once, with the spark torn out. It was when I found the armor. I don’t have any idea if there was a sparkeater there, but there might have been. I mean, there was so much of awful shit, I wouldn’t be surprised… but now? Where would it come from?”

„I need to run diagnostics on Ratri.”

„You think she could record something despite the shutdown?”

„I think what happened is connected to the shutdown.”

Miko sat up, looked at Sari.

„Shit,” she said.

„There are things in Ratri we don’t understand. I have no idea how, but I have a terrible feeling she killed this mech.”

„Shit,” Miko repeated. „What now?”

„I need a diagnostics. And then I will decide if I want to go with Fortress Maximus. I mean, I think someone on Cybertron could help, but what if they can not? But I don’t want her to suffer. Whatever is happening with her: I have no idea if it is even wrong. What if this is how she is supposed to be? I thought I knew the plans, the principle behind how Ratri was built, but…” She felt her hands shaking and eyes filling with tears. „Miko, when she shut down, I was afraid, for you, but mostly for her. Because you are indestructible, but Ratri… She is more fragile than we expected. And there are just too many things about her I don’t understand and too much about her that scares me.”

Miko embraced her, stroked her hair.

„I understand, love. I understand. I have no idea what is happening either, but you are right: there are too many suspicious things here. What do you need?”

„I might be needing to open some of Ratri’s machinery. To find out what she used to kill this mech – if it was her. And where is his spark gone.”

„Damn,” Miko said, for a change.

„I will perform some troubleshooting first.”

„Like in… turning things on and off again?”

Sari nodded.

„She is modular. Has two emotional processing units. The primary one is a lot like… subconsciousness, I guess? This was designed to mimic the complex structure of the human mind, based on some older theories” she explained.

The theories were seen as not really true for humans at the beginning of the twentieth century, and while the original concept of „super AI” originated allegedly back in the nineties, the first tests on the modified modules were promising. Ratri had several predecessors, although she was to be a „new generation”, with “better hardware and software”.

„This will also help us identify the source of the problem” Sari continued. „I can even… this is a little cruel, but it might be a good idea to run a simulation, that will create conditions similar to that from that situation… Damn, there is still one thing I cannot understand: that is, if Ratri really killed that mech, how did she came out with this particular method of killing him? Why tear out the spark? And what would she do with it?”

Miko just shook her head and Sari sighed.

They asked Fort Max and Missfire (once the two returned, that is. It seemed the air between them cleared a little and, judging by the way Missfire grinned and Fort Max smiled, everything was going in a good direction) what they knew about the sparkeaters. Missfire was talking and talking and from what he told the creatures were some kind of mythical monsters, some kind of mechanical vampires, only worse. They were ugly and were waiting in dark places and were hard to kill and… He also quoted a short rhyme, that was translating into English quite nicely, probably because it had less nuance to it than Megatron’s poetry.

Fort Max was more thrifty on words. He explained the sparkeater is considered to be a rapid mutation that can happen when the Cybertronian – and potentially any other mechanoid? - is exposed to unknown conditions. Sparkeaters are rare and yes, there are multiple myths and legends concerning them. And yes, they are dangerous, but they are not fairy tale monsters. And, really Missfire, why, you had seen sparkeaters on Mederi. And they were dealt with. And the mutation can be reversed, thank Primus.

If sparkeater really can be invisible, none of the mecha really knew, but Missfire insisted, that someone called Swerve will be delighted when he will be told a story of an invisible sparkeater. No, the entire army of invisible sparkeaters, why are you looking like this at me, Max?

So, in the end, this was not really useful.

And, despite the suggestion that the „rapid mutation” could affect other mechanoids, why would it even happen to Ratri?

Just too many questions.

Sari didn’t want to consult her suspicions. Not without seeing first what she could find.

This hurt her. She was not supposed to treat Ratri as a thing, and opening her like this, turning on and off the modules…This was more like medicine, she decided. Kind of. Only she was not a medic.

She sighed again. Over their heads, some flying creature – definitely a local fauna this time – passed.

„Just… let’s take a walk,” Sari offered, standing up. „I want this off my mind, for a while.”

„Of course, love,” Miko agreed.

They went along the beach. The Foria spending they afternoon here looked at them with interest, the entire colony already aware of the alien presence and that there was some kind of a fight in the forest, but most of them have never seen a human before. So they stared, but aside from blue skin and this hair/feathers thing they looked and behaved misleadingly human, with swimming and kids building sandcastles.

Miko and Sari went farther, towards less populated part of the beach. Not too far away, not really knowing, if there were any hostile local creatures.

The sun started to set, on the darkening sky, the gas giant glowed.

„Time to go back,” Sari said.

„Are you going to sleep on the ship again?” Miko asked.

Sari nodded.

„This… this makes the thing easier.”

„Of course.”

No „I will be there with you”.

This was the third night they slept in two different places. Had something went wrong, Sari thought? Nothing that happened caused any conflict between them. Nothing, that usually caused the couples to separate happen. But when the evening after the fight Sari said she is going to sleep on the ship Miko had just said „Ok” and went back to Stne-Ahre’s house.

Was something wrong?

The worst thing was, Sari had no idea.

She was upset, but when Ratri asked, she said this was still because of the fight and the danger and the mech who died. Which was, to a degree, truth.

Maybe Miko didn’t want to be impolite towards Stne-Ahre and her family? This would be understandable.

And yet…

„Miko?”

„Yes, love?”

„You can sleep with us… with me.”

„You need some time with Ratri. I didn’t want to…”

„Miko, what is wrong?”

„Nothing. What should be?”

„Because I have a feeling that something is wrong. But I have no idea what. And that is horrible. And I want… Are you feeling good with me? Do you love me or… or have you stuck with me on an alien planet with a defect spaceship with crazy AI and you see this all was a mistake?”

She went silent, shocked with the feelings suddenly overflowing her. Fear. She thought she got rid of it, of the terrible fear of being rejected, left alone. When she first met Miko, when she understood, that they can be described as „kindred spirits”, she held on to this friendship, sometimes in a way that bordered on obsessive. Was the relationship they had now a mistake? Did she kiss Miko that day because she really wanted it, or just because she was deep down afraid that she will be abandoned again, that she needs to do anything that was possible to keep Miko with her?

Miko looked shocked too.

„Sari…?”

Sari felt tears on her cheeks. Damn it. This shouldn’t be like this. She thought she had everything she needed, and now…

Miko embraced her and as a first instinct, Miko wanted to run away from this embrace.

„Sari, sweetheart, my love, my dearest, what is happening?” she heard, as her girlfriend pressed her face into her hair.

„I’m afraid,” Sari admitted. „That we rushed into it unprepared. Into this journey, into the relationship. That we will fail. That we will fall apart in a situation worse than this one. That we will hate each other, but we will be stuck together, and there will be no way out. That in any other circumstances you would leave me.”

„Sweetheart, remember when we met?”

Sari nodded.

This was a chance meeting, a situation like from some story published on the internet: they were roommates. A normal kind of roommates, then, placed in the same room in a student’s house. One of them, Sari really didn’t remember which one, joked, that they are now destined to spend the rest of their lives together. Let’s see if we end up hating each other, the other one said.

„Do you hate me? Do you want us to split?”

„No.”

I want to keep you. I want to be with you here. I want it to be good. But I’m afraid, because I’ve never been in a relationship before and going together on a space adventure is far more serious, than moving in together.

„Me neither. I love you. Have I ever told you that when I was in the Watcher’s lair and when I was trying to find the way in the dark and save the others, I was thinking of you? That I missed you? That you should have been with me?”

„No.”

„So I was an idiot. But I was thinking of you. And now I was thinking of you when I was at Stne-Ahre’s house and you – on the ship.”

„Why didn’t you ask to be with me and Ratri?”

Miko sighed.

„Because I assumed you need some space after what happened and that Ratri needs you more than I do… Ok, I was an idiot. Again,” She kissed Sari’s cheek. „I should have asked.”

„I should have asked if you would like to be with us” Sari admitted. „I mean, the first night it was what you were saying. But then… it hurt that you went to Stne-Ahre. I mean, she is lovely, and so are her spouses and children...” Sari shook her head. „I’m sorry, Miko. I’m just stressed. And worried.”

„I know.”

„I think I need you to be with us tonight,” Sari admitted. „And tomorrow we will be troubleshooting Ratri. And then we will call Fort Max and tell him what we are going to do next.”

***

Opening the panel that hid the inside of Ratri’s main computer was a hard job. It was not meant to be opened, Sari thought. Inside, there were several elements Sari recognized from the schematics she studied over and over again. There was also surprisingly lots of space in this part of the ship’s insides. In fact, she could crawl there. Which was a little creepy and Sari was not going to do this, but if she needed to get to several parts, for example, to physically detach then, she would need to go inside.

„How do you feel, Ratri?” she asked.

„Disturbed. This is not a part of me, where a human is supposed to be.”

„But someone built it.”

Some large diode was blinking a faint blue from the depths of Ratri’s viscera.

„Yes. But I… Sari, if it is possible, I don’t want you there.”

„Of course. We will do everything to avoid it” Sari agreed. „Now, as I explained before, I want to perform troubleshooting on you. Are you ready?”

It took Ratri a moment to answer that.

„I’m as ready as I can be, Sari.”

That means, not ready at all, Sari thought.

She wasn’t ready either.

„Ok,” she said while standing up. „I will use manual commands to turn on and off module by module.”

„Yes,” Ratri said, her voice full of uncertainty.

„We will be with you all the time. And we are no going to damage or deactivate you.

„I know, Sari. I trust you. And I trust Miko. Only I don’t… I don’t trust myself.”

Sari saw Miko shaking her head. Damn. This was disturbing.

„Let’s do it then,” Sari said, placing her hands on the console. „Deactivating noncrucial systems.”

Most of the lights went out, leaving only the emergency lighting. In theory they could deactivate even life support because there was a breathable atmosphere outside, but for now, Sari didn’t want to do it. She deactivated gravity systems though: they would not be necessary even if the ship went on emergency lockdown.

Sari went one by one, shutting down system by system. Ratri was silent and this was disturbing: but outside that nothing really happened.

„I will deactivate the secondary emotional processing unit,” Sari said. And while she was choosing the commands with one hand, the other stroked the metal surface. „I’m with you, Ratri,” she whispered.

Was Ratri even able to hear her now? Most of the sensors were offline already.

The blue light deep under the cover blinked, very bright now in the almost-darkness of the bridge.

The secondary emotional processing unit shut down.

The light was still there, blinking.

„What kind of a diode is that?” Miko asked, leaving her place under the wall and approaching. She kneeled to look inside.

Something is wrong, Sari thought.

This was just before something inside the ship let out a long rumbling sound.

Miko rose her head and looked at Sari.

„Fuck?” she asked.

„I don’t know. I…”

„I don’t like this diode,” Miko said. „Is it supposed to be there?”

The light blinked, faded, blinked again.

Sari kneeled beside her girlfriend, leaned towards the opening, towards the darkness, the cabling, the circuits. She felt her hands shaking, as she spread the cables out and…

The ship’s speakers came alive. The sound they let out was a screech, a scream, loud and piercing. This was similar to the sound Sari heard, as the small Decepticon was dying.

The blue light lit bright, almost white and Sari saw flashes of electricity around her.

She felt the charge, she felt Miko grabbing her and pulling her away, to the cold floor. The screaming continued for a moment and then it stopped, but the blue light was still there, blinking.

Sari was shaking. She felt Miko shaking. In this eerie blue light, Miko’s face was as scared, as Miko’s face could be.

„What color a spark is supposed to be?” Sari asked.

„I saw a green one,” Miko answered. „But I presume blue is also a good answer.”

***

„Do you need tea?” Vernha asked.

He might have his hand in a sling, but he noticed how shaken and disturbed both humans were, how they went out of their ship shaking and that they just allowed him to invite them into the booth he was spending his time observing the repair team taking care of his damaged power armor.

Both women looked at each other.

„Tea is good,” Sari decided.

„What happened there?” Vernha asked while putting the leaves of the local plant used as a tea to the kettle.

Miko shook her head, looked at Sari.

„We don’t really know,” Sari admitted.

„If you have problems with the ship, I can send some of my team,” Vernha suggested.

Miko looked at the power armor still covered in dents and bullet marks and her face turned green.

„I… I think I’m a little sick.” She said.

Sari could only shake her head.

„Vernha,” she asked. „Could you please leave us. We need to discuss it.”

He shook his head.

„Of course. The tea should be ready in five minutes.”

Miko was sitting breathing deeply, her skin was greenish-pale. Sari suspected she didn’t look good herself.

They sat in silence, while Forian tea was boiling. Was it five minutes, more, less? They had no idea.

„So it was her,” Sari said in the end. „My sweet Ratri. How. Why.”

„I have no idea.”

Sari put her hands over her face.

„And not even what they said to us about sparkeaters makes sense here...”

„It doesn’t mean Ratri is a monster from the tale for little robot... errr, children,” Miko reassured. „I mean, she was defending you, right? And herself.”

„Yes. But she could simply kill him. And all the other things… her nightmares, everything. It like something was deeply wrong with her primary emotional processing unit...”

„Can we take this thing out?” Miko asked.

„The primary emotional processing unit?”

„No. This spark. I mean, it is someone’s soul...”

Sari rose her head, looked at Miko, blinking in sudden realization.

„Fuck,” she said. It was usually Miko, not her, who was using stronger words. „It is a soul. It is Ratri’s soul.”

Miko stared at her, speechless and aghast. Her face had gotten greenish again. Then she jumped out.

„I… I think I’m going to puke,” she said.

She ran out of the room and threw out on the surface of the landing place.

Sari just followed her. She understood. The realization was horrible and she had no idea what part of it and which implication was worst.

Miko stood up, trying to wipe the vomit off her face. The act of throwing out didn’t change the fact, that she was palled and shocked.

The Foria working on the platform looked at them puzzled.

„How?” Miko asked.

„I overlooked so many things,” Sari admitted. „I ignored them. During the construction. I was too excited. And now… but this explains so many things that are happening. Miko, I just… Just…”

„Sorry, love, but I’m going to strangle the guy who got this idea. And the idiot who lied to you. To us. And even your dad, if necessary.”

Sari nodded.

„They probably deserve it. Damn. What now?”

„Are we able to take it out?” Miko asked again.

„We will kill her this way, probably for the second time,” Sari said. „If this… this thing,” saying the word „spark” was too much right now. „If it is what makes her sentient, then she will die. And… it will also die. How long are these things able to survive outside of the body?”

„I have no idea. And really, I don’t think Fort Max or Missfire know it either.”

„I wouldn’t tell them, not now. Remember, how Max reacted to the chair? What would he do if he learns this entire ship is made of what was left of one of his people? No. I mean, we need to consult someone, but not him.”

„He wants to take us to Cybertron to testify in this smuggling case… we can go and find someone who will help us. Someone that can be trusted...”

„Optimus mentioned his friend who was a medic. I guess the guy is somewhere there around. I have no idea, how he sees humans though, but since he is Optimus’ friend, then it should be ok. And he can keep a secret if needed, I know he helped Flatline with fixing Megatron, so...”

„All right,” Sari agreed. This sounded reasonable. And this was at the moment the best she could do for Ratri. „This sounds like a solution. We go to Cybertron, we find this medic, we tell him everything and we hope he knows what we should do next. But first I want to try one more thing, and this can be dangerous, but it can confirm our suspicions.”

Because there was always a chance they were wrong and what they had suspected was not true, and Sari really wanted this was not real and this was not her mistake of trusting too much in the schematics they had shown her before Ratri was built, of not asking enough questions.

„Yes, love?” Miko asked.

And Sari told her. And Miko, of course, didn’t like it at all, but neither did Sari.

***

The blue light blinked deep inside, steady, stable. No sounds inside the ship except for their footsteps.

This is like some kind of a horror movie, Sari thought. We are inside something we cannot really understand. An AI, that rebelled on us: only not, because it was never just an AI, she has something inside that was once a living being and now is… some kind of undead, mutated monster? Possibly.

This was a terrifying situation, but she realized, that what she feels is more sympathy, than fear. Sympathy for the unfortunate being, that ended up in the situation… and for Ratri, unaware of what she really was…

No. Ratri was still Ratri, she was real, she was developing sentience and feelings. She had the right to exist and not to be the suffering creature, that was probably mad because of everything.

„Pull it out if anything happened,” Sari told Miko, while pulling the cable towards her implant.

Miko was worried and terrified, but she didn’t protest.

I hope I know what I am doing, Sari thought, and plugged in.

The dark abyss she had already known welcomed her. Now it was not something awaiting in the deep – now it swallowed and there was…

Pain, pain, emptiness, falling apart, darkness, emptiness, need.

I am here am here am here.

Pain, pain, hurt, hurt trapped, unable to move, crippled. Am I here? Am I realy here?

I am here I am here iahmhere.

Hurts, it hurts and I’m empty, I’m falling apart, I’m dying, dying, dying, dead? Not dead yet. Dying.

Need. I got it, I got what I needed, stronger now, energy into my own energy. It didn’t help. I’m still dyingdyingdyingdying in pain hurt falling apart, violated.

What are they doing to me stop stop stop violating me hacking inside dontdontdontdont.

The scream was so loud, Sari heard it despite being disconnected from most stimuli from the outside world. She heard it – in her ears, in her head. It vibrated in her skull and in her bones and it was her scream as well and she had no idea, how long she screamed before the connection was abruptly broken, and she fell on the floor to curl into a fetal position, overwhelmed by the abyss of feelings and by the realization, that her connecting to Ratri… to this being… didn’t help.

Miko was with her. How could Sari ever doubt in her love? She let herself be dragged up and embraced.

„She… they are in pain,” Sari said. „I… when I connected with them, this was like… violation. Assault. I didn’t know. But it happened to them before, I think this was when the scientists did… Oh, god! And they are stronger now, they really… really had killed this mech. Devoured his spark. So they are… more alive? But not really alive still. God. How could it happen? How could I allow it?”

„You didn’t know.”

„I know. But…” Sari shook her head. „I feel guilty. Dirty. I am a part of what was done to them.”

„And they probably had done many horrible things before they were killed,” Miko remarked.

„Does this make them deserve suffering?”

„No. No one deserves to suffer. But you are not guilty, love. Not even of this assault you committed now. You didn’t know.”

„I need to bring Ratri back online. But she will… she will remember it as a nightmare… what should I do?”

„You should tell her the truth.”

„And then?” Sari insisted. „What then?”

„She can decide. She should be able to do it. This is her life. And her past.”

Sari shook her head.

„This is the past of some mech I have never met, who is long dead, who did many horrible things, who was killed probably in some horrible way. This is not Ratri.”

„She has dreams of this person,” Miko reminded. „And yes, she might be an entirely new person, but this was also her. They share the same soul.”

„I’ve never really believed in reincarnation.”

„Neither did I.”

They both were from cultures, who considered reincarnation one of the main principles when it comes to the afterlife… but none of them was religious, both identifying as atheists, in some meaning of this word, Sari, daughter of a scientist who never really bothered to introduce her to religion or cultural nuances of Hinduism other, that complex mythology, Miko brought up with animist outlook, but never really thinking about it, because she never needed it.

And now, when it comes to the aliens, everything was upside down. How the human definition of the soul would apply to the beings, who had their souls literally inside their bodies, build of shining portions of energy? And when you took the spark out of the frame and put it into a new one – wasn’t it reincarnation?

They looked at the pulsing blue. Then Sari closed the panel and pushed the keys on the console.

„Secondary emotional processing unit back online. Sari. I think I had a horrible nightmare. Again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm never eager to write sexual assault or rape but from Ratri's previous life's perspective and from the perspective of my headcanons how certain levels of sexuality, intimacy, and data exchange work for the Cybertronians this is what happened and what had happened before.
> 
> I also wanted to say, that I'm surprised to get two kudos las week :) I'm happy that there are some people reading this story. I hope you like it.


	8. Chapter 8

The lights were back on and the nightmare was over: for now. It is never going to be over for Ratri, Miko thought. And for the nameless Cybertronian, whose barely alive soul was built into the ship.

Miko had seen cruelty before. She had seen what the Council did to Megatron, and, despite she wanted the warlord’s death back then, she recognized it as torture. But this was worse. This was on par with some things the Watcher did to his victims.

„Sari. I think I had a horrible nightmare. Again,” Ratri said.

Sari stroked the console.

„I know, Ratri, I know. It is over now.”

„Have you found the source?” Ratri asked.

Sari hesitated.

„I...”

„We found it,” Miko said. „And we are very sorry, Ratri. It…”

She took a deep breath, looked at Sari but Sari was silent. Damn it, it was Sari who should tell it, she would do it better, she was closer to Ratri, she understood her better, she linked to Ratri…

...and assaulted her, unknowingly.

„Ratri, we found out that the idiots who built you used a spark of a Cybertronian and it is not dead.”

There was a moment of silence. Sari hid her face in her hands. I’m sorry, love, Miko thought, I know you are afraid to tell her this, but we need to. We owe her this. If we are to treat her as a person…

...she is more a person than we had thought.

„Miko? I don’t understand,” Ratri said, surprise in her voice.

„The people who build you used a part of a dead Cybertronian. His spark. It is inside you. And it is not exactly dead. I’m sorry, Ratri.”

„You mean… I am… that being? I am… someone else?”

„No!” Sari exclaimed. „You are not, you are Ratri.”

„But that other person’s nightmares are mine.”

„Yes. But we find a way to get rid of it!”

„Getting rid of it might be not the best idea,” Miko muttered.

„I must admit, I am confused,” Ratri said. „I understand what you are talking about and my calculations indicate, what you are talking about is highly plausible, but there is part of me that cannot process it. I can use analogies from history to explain why my constructors did something like this, but something in this doesn’t work. And I have no knowledge that will tell me, what should I do now. What should I do now, Sari, Miko?”

Sari shook her head.

„We don’t know,” she said.

„What are you going to do, then? Do you know who I was?”

„Who he was,” Sari corrected. „She. They. That person. Not you. You are you.”

„We don’t know. We know they were killed on Earth, but many Cybertronians died there during the war and after, so… No. We have no idea. And as for what we are going to do now, there is a medic on Cybertron I think we can trust. We are going there with Fortress Maximus and we are going to find the medic and ask him what he can do for you…”

„What he can do for this person that I was before,” Ratri corrected.

„No!” Sari exclaimed.

„Sari, I am aware, that there is a possibility that restoring that Cybertronian is an option. And I believe this medic would want to take this opportunity if it exists. It is understandable. If he is a good medic, he is probably sworn to protecting the lives of his own race.”

Sari just shook her head.

„We don’t know,” Miko said quickly. Damn, this was an unstable ground. Sari was afraid of losing Ratri and Miko understood that, but at the same time she was aware that maybe preserving Ratri at all cost was not the best thing they could do…

But, no, she didn’t really want to think about it. And it was not her decision. It should be Ratri’s decision. Miko hoped that the medic, who was friends with Optimus would understand it.

When I wanted Ratri to be her own person, Miko thought, I didn’t expect this to be so complicated.

„We will look for the best solution,” she promised. „But we cannot do it alone.”

„I trust in your judgment then,” Ratri said. „And I will trust in this medic if you say you trust him.”

Sari was standing by the console, stroking it slowly.

„I…,” she said. „There is one more thing you should know… When your secondary circuits were off, I linked with you… with what remained of that other person… And this was a mistake. I felt that… by doing it I violated that person. I...” she paused, her lips trying to form the letters of a horrible word and being unable to do this. „I did not know. I hurt them. Terribly. I hurt you. I was hurting them all the time. And I was hurting you. I did not now.”

„You are not hurting me, Sari,” Ratri said „I find comfort with linking with you. I find peace with it. We are synchronizing and I am happy when we do. It is something that should exist. I feel a deep need of doing it with someone.”

Sari shivered, spasmed, sank on her knees, arms spread as if she tried to hug the console, to hug the ship, hug Ratri, hug the nameless dead Cybertronian she unwillingly assaulted.

Miko shook her head.

She had no idea how Cybertronians perceived the direct link with each other, with machines, with AIs, with augmented organics and technoorganics. She suspected this could be something intimate, despite she also was aware that they knew a form of „intimate interfacing” that worked similarly to human sexual intercourse (and she really should get over it). But accessing someone’s memories, feelings, their mind, against their will: this was something horrible. Mind rape was a horrible term, but it described the thing correctly.

Miko learned how to protect herself from the invasive telepaths, but even then she didn’t think that some of them could really violate her.

Sari was not aware of what she was doing. And Ratri apparently needed this direct link. She perceived it as a form of being close. Synchronizing, she said. Now it occurred to Miko, that this was not an accident. Ratri was initially not designed to be able to do this, but Sari insisted on giving them this possibility. „Synchronizing” was not something the human designers planned. This must have been another need of the being that was used to build Ratri. They must have done it, with their fellow soldiers, with their friends or even lovers.

Ratri searched for this closeness. The half-dead Cybertronian was already hurt enough and every attempt they must have perceived as assault.

And there possibly was no good solution to the problem. Not now at least.

„Sari,” Ratri said. „I understand that you are conflicted right now. I’m sorry that it came to that. You didn’t hurt me and you didn’t intend to hurt them...” she stammered „The other person. Maybe if you try it again, you could reach out to them?”

„And provoke them to kill us,” Miko said, remembering the electric charge that almost hit Sari as she tried to reach out for what she thought was a diode. „We still have no idea how exactly the Decepticon died...”

„This I can explain” Ratri said. „I’ve been performing several scans on my own and I couldn’t exactly understand how it happened or explain it, but your discovery about my nature makes it easier to understand. I was aware, that there was some kind of connection between my system and the chairs. Since they are made of sentio metallico, I must have absorbed one of them, to create… Please, Sari, Miko, do not be afraid. Those are not dangerous to you.”

Something clanged above them and one of the panels in the ceiling retracted – Miko was sure this also wasn’t part of the initial design. From the opening two mechanical segmented tentacles crawled out. They ended with sharp claws. Sharp enough to cut through the metal panels of the plating of the unfortunate mech.

Miko couldn’t help but release a gasp. She was not afraid, but the last place she saw such things had been Watcher’s lair.

„This explains… a lot,” Sari admitted.

„Yes, Sari. So it seems that I am the sparkeater. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I was afraid. Now I know. And I still am afraid. But I believe, I killed that Decepticon for some more reasons, not only to absorb his spark energy: I believe, I was protecting you.”

Miko saw Sari approaching the two tentacles hanging from the ceiling. She saw her putting the hands on one of them, stroking the segments and sharp claws. The thing twitched and moved, brushing the closed claw against Sari’s face.

„You would protect us” Sari said. „I believe this. It is all right. I trust you. And we will do anything to help you. And those things? I am not afraid of them. They are part of you.”

„I can touch you now” Ratir said. „Miko. Can I… am I allowed to touch you too?”

Something inside Miko revolted. She suppressed it. It is not one of Watcher’s things. It is not a monster from Missfire’s tales, even if it does something similar. It is a being I want to help, she thought. A being I want to trust. And those things are weird, but Sari is right: they are part of Ratri. And Ratri needs contact with the others and she has only us. I cannot deny her what she needs.

The metal was vibrating slightly and the surface of the claw was cold, when it touched Miko’s hand. The tentacle was as thick as Miko’s arm and Miko had no idea how long it was, probably Ratri absorbed something else aside from the chair.

She is changing. She is evolving, but not in the way we expected her to.

But this is all right. I will accept it. This is fascinating, it is weird and creepy, and, well, let it be like this.

The claw was brushing her hand and her cheek and it must have looked weird from the outside, two women hugging mechanical tentacles, and it was a little weird for Miko too, but all right, let it be like that. Who cares how weird it is.

For Ratri it was a substitute for something she must have had in her previous life. Miko could give her this substitute. She could help her this way.

„Hey, Ratri?”

„Yes, Miko?”

„Want to eat the other chair too?”

***

„So we decided” Miko said.

Fortress Maximus was sitting on the edge of the spaceport platform. He was still smaller than Forian patrol ships, still smaller than Ratri was. And he still couldn’t position himself in a way, that would allow him to look at a human comfortably – and a human to look comfortably at him.

He stated, he didn’t have many opportunities to contact humans. He mentioned than in theory he had met Verity, but he was then in a state, that hadn’t allowed any interaction.

„I never fought on Earth. I had other duties. And you are smaller than all the minibots… and I never really was good at talking to minibots too” he admitted.

For Miko, it was not a big problem, but moving some bigger containers and sitting on top of them helped.

„We will be going to Cybertron with you,” Miko informed. „How do you see it and what do you expect from us?”

„You could go to our ship...”

„Not an option. I mean, sorry, I know, this is an Autobot ship so it is a high chance it has an infrastructure to be used in case taking an organic on board is needed… that is not an airlock.”

Fort Max blinked, not understanding, but Missfire seemed to get it, because he laughed.

„Airlock! I have no idea where did you get it from, but I like it.”

„From one Decepticon, that didn’t throw me out in the end. We keep our ship and we just follow you. Is that ok? In communication range, just in case Blackout and his thugs or some other nasty thing comes around.”

„All right.” Fort Max agreed.

Missfire was not angry anymore, he was not a fan of the idea of going to Cybertron, but after that last talk, he must have had with his companion (partner? Date?) he was much more compliant. He just wasn’t a fan of going to Cybertron – New Cybertron, he stressed. This was not even a planet he was made on and even on the old one he felt like he was suffocating each time he was there.

“I am not forged to live in one place, you know, I need space, I need to be on the move, you know” he explained to Miko later, as they were already on their way, after making all the goodbyes to Sthne-Are, her family and to Vernha and his team. “I mean, I’m might be not the most stability-loving person out there.”

Miko was sitting inside Ratri’s kitchen, with the cup of Forian tea, which ended up to be really tasty in the end. They got some of it as a parting gift. A nice gesture. Miko thought, that she would like to visit the colony someday again – and she stopped to worry that much that she had let Thser-Nah die. This time there were no dead Foria left behind.

Missfire was, obviously, on the ship he shared with Fortress Maximus. They were keeping the communications open and that made it easy to just talk and get to know each other.

“Well, I’m a bit of a restless spirit myself” Miko admitted. “That’s why we left our planet. We wanted to have adventures.”

“You could totally hang out with the Scavengers!” Missfire said. “We know everything about humans! We visited Earth! Once.”

“You must know a lot” Miko agreed. She suspected the interaction between this little too eager ‘Con and the people on Earth could have been a little messy.

Missfire seemed not to be very attached to his faction affiliation, wearing the badge out of habit more than out of everything else. From what he was speaking of his team, the Scavengers, they were all outcasts. The name they gave to themselves spoke for itself.

How someone like him ended up trying to form a relationship with someone like Fortress Maximus was a puzzle, but Miko could again say, that, well, she had seen weirder.

„So, Missfire, how is your date?” Miko asked.

„Date… how do you know?” she got the answer.

„You told it to Blackout as you told him to go away.”

„Oh. This was you in the armor. Right. By the way, this is Cybertronian, right? The armor, I mean.”

„Yes it is”

„Where do you have it from? Are there more such things? I’ve heard of those things… not as powerful as the real Apex Armor, but...” Missfire’s voice sounded dreamy over the comms.

„Don’t change the topic. I want to know how did your date end.” Miko interrupted him.

„Why would I tell it to an organic?”

Oh, well, knows everything about Humans, right? Visited Earth once?

„Because this organic was the cause Fort Max was called. So I guess we are responsible for interrupting your initial plans? And this organic told Fort Max to go after you, so, you know, I want to know if I helped or if I just made it worse.”

She knew she helped, but she wanted to learn a little more. Maybe because asking about the date was a pretext to learn someone of their new traveling companions. And while Fortress Maximus was awkward when it came to talking to humans freely, Missfire, who also had no experience with interacting with humans (visiting Earth once really doesn’t count), just didn’t care about it and went for it.

„What do you organics know about dating anyway?”

„You think we cannot date?”

„I mean, one of my friends has an organic boyfriend, but...”

„A human?”

„Nah. A Dire Wraith.”

„Oh” Miko said.

For all that, she knew about this particular alien race – not very much, in fact, but due to the fact that some Dire Wraiths found their way to Earth in the past, they were one of the alien species that humanity was at least aware of. And no one seemed to like Dire Wraiths. The name had apparently something to do with this.

„If you think a mech in relationship with a Dire Wraith...” Missfire started, but Miko interrupted him again.

„I’ve seen weirder pairings.”

„Like?”

„Your people. An Autobot and a Decepticon.”

„Me and Max? We are not weird!”

„Weird enough. I mean, if he didn’t try to kill you he must have tried to kill several of your friends… and vice versa.”

„Well, he is known for all the ‘Cons he killed at Simanzi. Besides he has guns in his legs.” The last sentence was spoken in a dreamy voice as if the guns in Fortress Maximus’ legs were a really attractive feature. Who Miko was to decide, what is attractive and what is not for the alien robots, who didn’t even have gender in the sense humans did?

She shook her head.

„You people are weird” she stated. „I mean, on Earth, I guess similar things happen, but… usually when someone kills your people you hate him… but, on the other hand, your war is over and you just got over it.”

„The dating options are not great for you when you want to find someone who didn’t kill any of your people. Even in your own faction. I mean, how do you think I got my name?”

„I have no idea how you people got your names.”

„There was the incident, you know, a misunderstanding, and, well, some ‘Cons died. The DJD tried to get me, like, hard, for it.”

Miko had no idea what the „DJD” was, but Missfire’s tone was serious enough, that she decided she doesn’t want to ask about it right now.

„Anyway. War ended and you learn to live with each other, and, Max…?”

„He is awesome. And he needs...” Missfire’s voice had gotten a little more cheerful, something dark crept into it. “He needs someone to… well. We all had things that happened to us. He just had one thing too much.”

This was surprisingly serious for someone who claimed to know everything about humans because he visited Earth once. But in the end, it might have explained something? Fort Max had some kind of trauma and maybe problems to open to the others and Missfire hoped to help him with this.

Miko wished them luck. She herself had someone traumatized around. Her own ship.

***

„Are you sure you want to do this?”

„Yes, Sari,” Ratri said. „I want to do this. I need to do this. I need to know. Miko is right. I need to decide, but I don’t want to decide for someone else. And we don’t even know if that other person is someone else or me. I’m confused and I must admit I’m scared. And we don’t know who that person was. I care for you, Sari, and I care for Miko and I want to be with both of you, but what if that other person wants to kill all humans for what was done to them? The worst thing is, I understand how this kind of motivation works.”

„You don’t know if it were humans who killed them,” Sari pointed out.

This war was far too messed up even without human involvement.

„I know. But those were humans who cut their body, who took their soul and put it inside me. And if I’m right, the feeling of being assaulted can be caused by what humans did. This can be how this person understood the creation of my program. This is horrible – I hope we will be able to reach out and make this person understand you don’t want to hurt them.”

Them, Sari thought.

This person.

Was it two different beings, two different personalities, Ratri and this „other person”? Did the „other person” even exist?

They died. They ere cut into pieces.

And they consumed the energy for the spark of another Cybertronian – did it mean they were a little more alive now?

Sari didn’t want to deal with it. She was not ready. She wanted to keep Ratri as she was, sweet and kind, and asking for linking, for „synchronizing”…

But Miko was right: this need for „synchronizing” was not something humans programmed into Ratri. It was there before, in the half-dead spark, along with the nightmares.

Maybe there was also part of Ratri’s kindness and loyalty there, part of her sweetness, part of this warmth that Seri felt when she was connected to Ratri?

She stroked the cable, felt the light buzz of energy under her cheek. Over her head she hard a panel retracting and a metal claw brushed her shoulder. She smiled. It was sweet, Ratri wanting to touch.

The „other person” had a bipedal shape, that could be called vaguely humanoid. They were not trapped in one shape but had two, maybe three modes. They could read EM fields of other mecha, touch other mecha, they had parts and sensors Ratri didn’t possess. Gaining, regaining the possibility to touch must have been at least a little liberating.

„Sari. Would you link with me? Would you synchronize?”

Sari took a deep breath.

„Yes. But if you notice anything that is alarming, if anything is uncomfortable, then let me know outright. Yes?

„Yes, Sari.”

She put the plug into the implant and sat down, leaning against the pillow she took from the bedroom – since both chairs made of sentio metallico were now consumed to give Ratri more possibilities.

While the last time it was deep darkness that awaited Sari, this time she sunk into something warm and soft, into Ratri’s joy.

How different it was, from all the pain Sari had experienced the previous time.

Sari. You are here. I’m happy to see it.

All the affection, that made Sari’s heart jump.

She remembered the affection in the strokes of the metal claw against her shoulder and cheek.

You must have loved someone… They must have loved someone before, Sari corrected herself.

Yes? Maybe? Is this love I feel now, the joy when you are with me?

Love, friendship, being family, they are always so close to each other, sometimes they blend. Miko was my best friend, the first real friend I’ve ever had. Now we are lovers, but we still are friends.

That other person must have had friends and lovers too, Ratri agreed. Thy had been synchronizing. Connecting. Were close. How they feel now, once they lost someone they loved?

This was a very long war, Ratri. Many people died.

This is sad.

Yes, yes it is.

Do you want to try…?

Sari dove deeper. Into darkness, into cold, searching for the nightmares. And Ratri was opening before her like a flower, letting her in.

Let it not be a violation, Sari begged. Not this time. I did it once, I don’t want to do it again, to no one, never ever again.

There were darkness and pain. Cuts, thousands of cuts on the armor, getting inside, to the sensitive meshes and cables and sensors. Taking, taking the being apart, dismembering them. The memory of senses Sari didn’t have, alien and fascinating, and scary, because they registered… what?

The dismemberment, the last thing the dying/dead/not yet dead mech remembered before they imposed Ratri’s program upon them.

And earlier?

Pain. Battlefield. Fire. Enemy approaching, get ready, get ready, follow your commander, remember the maneuvers, yes, codded deep inside you, synchronized programming, now you can move as one the three of you.

This is the joy, the fact you are together. There is a pain of loosing someone. It had happened once. It hurts. It will hurt when you will die, when you will leave the bonds broken.

There was someone the dead mech loved, was close to, intimate with. But on the battlefield, when the enemy hit them (approach, strike down, change the mode to root, simple attack, but there is a swing of a powerful blade approaching and this is the first of the cuts that will come, it hits apart, that Sari’s senses cannot recognize and the mech falls) the others left, and the commander left, did they know the mech was dying or did they just…

Left. Left them to die. The Afterspark awaiting and everything fading, fading, fading, but no, not dead yet, and then the pain comes.

It is over now, Sari tried to communicate but received no answer. Like there were only the last moments of the mech left coded in the spark, nothing else.

But they killed the intruder. They absorbed his spark to gain strength. They absorbed the sentio metallico, formed the clawed tentacles. Were able to defend themselves – from the intruder, from Sari’s unwilling assault…

Sari retreated, closer to the surface, into the light that was Ratri.

Have you seen any from this?

Feel. A little. Yes. There is their pain inside me and it makes me hurt too.

I know. I wish it stopped.

Sari. You are doing the best you can. I am grateful for that.

Warmth again. Affection.

I want to hold you, Sari.

In the outside world, Sari felt something wrapping around her shoulders and accepted that.

There was the humm again, deep, deep in the ship.

What is that, Ratri?

I don’t know. It just happens when we are together and when you are close and touching… it can have something to do with the Sentio metallico, I think. It can also… I don’t know. I have this feeling…

And Sari felt, warmth, the warmth inside her, and tension, and shiver flowing down, down, down her body…

She jerked disconnected abruptly.

The tentacle unwrapped itself.

„Sari? Have I done something bad?”

Sari shook her head. Her body responded in a way she hadn’t expected it to. Was it a mistranslated impulse from Ratri? Or not mistranslated at all…?

She felt her cheeks burning.

„Do you experience sexuality, Ratri?”

Ratri reminded silent for a while.

„I am confused” she admitted. „The question you asked was weird. I read the reactions of your body and they match what my database says about humans being sexually aroused. It is confusing because usually, I read it when you are with Miko and when I disconnect my sensors to give you privacy. But at this moment…? What is happening?”

Sari swallowed.

„P...please answer my question.”

„I know what sexuality is, but I was not programmed to experience it.”

„Cybertronians know sexuality.”

„I am aware of that, Sari. According to Miko they know something that they call intimate interfacing and also the autopsy on the dead bodies revealed the components than resemble human sexual organs, although most human scientists reject the possibility of it can have a sexual function...”

„Ratri!” Sari exclaimed, feeling her cheeks burning. „I know this! I want to know if you experience sexuality! Because if what had just happened was sexual, then...”

„Oh. Oh. Now I understand. I am sorry. And I am confused. I understand your concern. I don’t know how to answer your question, I have to little knowledge of how sexuality really works for Cybertronians – and if it is possible that it worked for me in some way. So, Sari, I am deeply sorry if the impulses you received were...”

„That… that is all right, Ratri. We didn’t know.”

Damn, damn, damn.

„Ratri… please, I don’t want you to feel rejected, but I need to think.”

„This is understandable, Sari. I will leave you now and concentrate on keeping us on course.”

For a longer moment Sari was standing with her head pressed against the cool wall, trying to gather herself.

She still felt her body was hot and tense. This was not going away.

She shook her head. Damn it. Damn it all.

Miko was sitting on the bed and laughing. Missfire’s voice could be heard from the speakers. That must have been an interesting conversation, but Sari didn’t care. She sturmed into the room, kneeled beside her girlfriend.

„What...” Miko started.

„Can I interrupt?”

„Your eyes are glowing” Miko noticed.

„Yes. I know. Yes. Could you...”

„We are going to talk later, Missfire” Miko said. „Ratri, please disconnect.”

Then Sari was kissing her and Miko’s eyes were wide with surprise, but she didn’t protest. She pulled Sari towards her.

„What happened?” she asked.

How to explain it? Not now. Later. Maybe later, once she understands what happened because Sari really had no idea how to understand it.

„Nothing. I just want you. Make love to me?”

„I have nothing against.”

„Good” Sari said, wrapping herself around her friend, her lover her other half, slowly sliding her fingers under Miko’s t-shirt. „Ratri, please, mute the room.”


	9. Chapter 9

It is a completely different thing to watch the alien planet on various pictures or even footage and to see it with one’s own eyes.

Miko remembered from the pictures, that Cybertron looked as if it was hollowed out: and that indeed how the planet was. It was a lot like its inhabitants, created entirely from mechanical parts and maybe able to reshape itself if needed. It was all lights and shiny surfaces and bright colors. It hummed with thousands of engines, that seem to make their own melody.

Cybertron was a little like special effects in the movies, Miko thought. Impressive, but overwhelming in overabundance. It looked magnificent from the orbit, but it definitely was not a place for a human to spend a long time in.

This was not original Cybertron of course, Miko remembered. The original planet was destroyed by Unicron. Where this one came from was not clear for humans: but when Miko asked their guides, they confirmed the version with the parallel universe.

„It is a mess because it came with its own mecha” Missfire stated. „And many of them Functionists. So you can bump into yourself, but with a screen instead of the head. Creepy as slag. I was here… once… twice… Don’t really like it. Although Swerve has a nice bar. I could take you, but I doubt you drink Engex?”

„It would probably burn us on the inside,” Miko guessed But thanks for the invitation”

The planet had no breathable atmosphere, but in the capital city, there was a dome built, home to several alien species making their business or working as diplomats on Cybertron. It had its own landing place, allowing the organics to avoid unnecessary exposure to the planet's inhospitable environment. The little world under the dome had breathable air, plants and was less shiny and, most importantly, was quiet. Because as fascinating Cybertron was, the sounds were dangerous even with the helmets filtering them.

There was, of course, a human embassy placed under the dome. Both Miko and Sari were aware of that and soon after both ships left the hyperspace they suggested that maybe the ambassador should be informed.

„There is a human ambassador on New Cybertron?” Fortress Maximus seemed to be shocked. „Well, I guess there should be one. Well, of course, he should be informed. And I guess he should also be informed that you are here to testify? In case any diplomatic incidents are to happen...”

„We are here out of our own will” Sari reminded. „And the alliance between our races should allow cases like this. But, yes, better safe than sorry.”

The ambassador’s name was Jae Park. Miko didn’t know much of the guy, besides that he seemed to be of Korean origin. She suspected not everyone was suitable to stay for a long time on a planet that is so inhospitable for humans and other organics, so he must have fulfilled some special requirements. There was a high chance, that he had worked with the Cybertronians – most probably Autobots in the past. If so, he had possibly met Optimus at least once. Miko was also totally sure the man knew who she was.

This last element was something she was worried about. There will be questions. There always are questions.

Well, chances that this guy was part of Marissa Fairborn’s conspiracy were really slim. Miko could accept this.

So the message was sent, but it was not Jae Park, who welcomed two humans at the entrance to the dome, but another mech.

They were different from most Cybertronians Sari and Miko had met by far: if anyone compared, it would be Minimus Ambus, because the mech was also small, slim, with no visible weapons and with very little armor. Not built for war, for sure. Their plating was in pleasant peach color and there was no faction insignia on it. They had a narrow face and round, teal eyes resembling googles. The pair of wheels indicated some kind of a motorcycle as an alt mode – or even something smaller, a scooter, maybe.

The mech was very pleasant, smiled a lot, and seemed to be used to the presence of organics. They introduced themselves as a person tasked with the duty to act as a guide to human visitors.

„My name is Swivel. I will be your guide and I will show you quarters prepared for our guests from Earth” they said. „The ambassador was informed, but he is in an important meeting at the moment. He will join us later.”

Leaving Ratri was an unpleasant necessity. Even worse than it was on the Forian colony, especially for Sari, especially now that they knew what she really was. And Sari felt guilty of what happened – she didn’t admit it and when Miko asked, she denied right away, but Miko knew it was bothering Sari. Frankly, she was not surprised. Being aware that you unwillingly assaulted someone sexually… Miko would be appalled as well if this happened to her. And it didn’t help, that Ratri understood and that Miko understood. Sari needed time – and she needed to find help for Ratri. This would help her get over it.

Sari was also afraid of losing Ratri. This Miko also understood.

The buildings under the dome had multiple levels and terraces, with plants, of them some were brought from Earth, and some presumably from other planets. There was also a scenic waterfall and a larger pond at the lowest level. In several places in between the plants, Miko noticed a cluster of colorful crystals.

„Are those crystal gardens?” she asked the guide.

The bot nodded.

„Awesome! I’ve heard of those!” she exclaimed. Then she giggled, remembering her conversation with Optimus. Tending to the crystal gardens… maybe that was what they were doing now.

There was, to Miko’s delight, one cluster of crystals next to the quarters they were given. It glistered with multiple colors in the sun.

„Here are your accommodations,” the mech said. „If you are in need of something, contact the dome maintenance. And contact me, if you want to visit the city. I will be your guide as well as transport.”

They were left alone to get used to the accommodations, then they went to meet the ambassador.

I more „normal” circumstances one would be expected to wear formal clothing for such meeting, but none of the women took something like that with them, so jeans and simple blouses needed to be enough, while the ambassador and the man with him wore suits and ties – not that Cybertronians would really care, Miko thought.

„Lieutenant Nakadai. Ms. Sumdac” Jae Park smiled greeting them.

Miko ignored the lieutenant part. It was not what she wanted to hear, something, she would gladly leave behind, but now she needed to accept that both men recognize her rank.

The other man was named Michael Rosales. He was also a diplomat and he was on his way to the Citrix Station.

„You visited this place, as I know, lieutenant,” he said, smiling at Miko and his smile was too wide and Miko felt unpleasant cold down her spine.

No, she thought, this is nothing. He knows my name because he probably has my files, the official ones and he knows I was a hostage. Nothing more.

She smiled as well. The best smile she learned spending many years with Americans. Rosales was American as well, judging from the accent, and his name and slightly dusky skin indicated a Hispanic origin.

„It is a fascinating place, Mr Rosales.”

„So I heard. If you are heading there, I’d love you to be my guide. You probably know it better, than I do and have many interesting stories.”

I want to punch him, Miko thought. Why was the man making such a slimy impression on her?

„Not as much, as you would expect.”

„Don’t diminish your achievements, lieutenant. But I will leave you both to my friend here, I have another meeting scheduled for today before I leave tomorrow.”

Miko was relieved when Michael Rosales left. She saw Sari’s puzzling sight, but this was not a time for commenting on the situation.

The ambassador didn’t have this awful smile, even though he recognized Miko as well. When she asked, where he has the information from, he shrugged.

„This was sent to me from Earth when I requested information on who is visiting. To be honest, I’m a little surprised, given your previous experience with Cybertronians...”

„If you read my files, then you know, that there were problems worse than Cybertronians.” Miko shrugged. She tried to behave as naturally, as possible. „I really have no problems with them. And Fortress Maximus is a nice person.”

„But I’ve heard you were harassed by Decepticon pirates?”

„A coincidence.”

„Obviously, but an interesting one” the ambassador nodded. „I also know you are to testify. I will do my best to help you here, although I don’t think you are in trouble.”

„Well, we’d love to have some information, from someone, who is not from here, on the state of Cybertronian politics,” Sari said.

The ambassador sighted.

„This is a mess and Michael,” he was speaking of Rosales, obviously, “says this can end with another war, and soon, and this time they will kill each other, for good. Which would be a shame, despite everything.”

Well, Miko thought, how considerate of Earth command. Send someone who likes Cybertronian to Cybertron. Send someone who would like them all dead to the Galactic Council. This way Earth can court both Cybertron and the Council and take any side that would be necessary in case of conflict.

She remained silent and let Sari talk.

„What do you mean by mess, Mr Park?”

„Well, the Autobots and the Decepticons are just the tip of an iceberg. This planet is not an original one, it was transported from a parallel universe and it has its own problems, as you can imagine. It had an authoritarian government before, there was also a group of rebels… those rebels are now formal citizens, but they hate former government – and they are closer to Decepticons. Many of them idolize Megatron… Autobots also dislike the former regime of this planet, but as you can see the sympathies of the rebels don’t make it easier. There are also all the neutrals, that have very various origins… Some of them are very young, created just a few years ago, but they are considered mature citizens already. This is a complicated society. The current government represents all the factions and fractions, or at least it tries. The law is… a mess. And every new thing I learn about this place is fascinating, but also utterly absurd from a human point of view.”

„We will remain by „fascinating”,” Sari said.

„Well, you are not going to live here, so this is a good choice.

„We are to meet someone called Prowl. What could you tell us about him?” Sari asked. Miko was still silent. She felt she is entering a dangerous ground – and if she started to ask questions, she would make it even more difficult.

The man frowned

„The Internal Security Advisor… this seems serious. I thought you were to talk to some police enforcer, but Prowl is not one anymore. He is responsible for, well, the internal security of New Cybertron. He is in charge of political investigations.”

„I guess it is political then” Miko muttered.

No surprise, really. This must have been about much, much more than only smuggling of unethically acquired metal. Was someone – Starscream? - building an army. Just great.

Some ideas, some visions crossed Mikos's mind. She shook them off. Remember the poem. Remember what Optimus said to you. Whatever is going on, it is not a consequence of your actions. And for all you know now, the surviving members of Decepticon command are acting on their own.

„Yes. But it doesn’t really concern you. You will give the information you have and then it will be over for you. I’ve met Prowl once before. He seems to be a very practical person. He has the opinion of being...” ambassador Park hesitated “Dangerously practical.”

And there is so much information you probably don’t have about Prowl, Miko thought, as they left the ambassador after spending about an hour more on terribly boring „socializing”. The man missed a human company, that was sure.

She shared her observations with Sari.

„I know that general Faireborn worked with Prowl on…”

She didn’t have to end. Sari understood. She shook her head.

„So he must have your files?” Sari assumed.

„Probably. Ugh. Verity has something on him, but she didn’t share it.”

„She must have her reasons. You had yours not to tell her everything.” Sari gave Miko a reassuring squeeze on her hand. „It will be all right, love.”

But this day was for Miko a day of bad feelings and anticipation of rapidly approaching catastrophe.

***

Swivel took them to see Prowl soon after – both Miko and Sari decided to wait too long would make it worse. They just needed to say what there was to say and leave, to take care of other things – the things more important to them.

Prowl was a middle-sized mech had predominately black and white plating, on which the red elements – a pair of sharp finials on his forehead and an Autobot symbol stood out significantly. He had, for some reason unknown, only one eye, glowing and blue – this was not by design, this was an effect of some accident or battle because only an empty black socket remained on the left side of his head.

Miko felt the instant urge to see what was inside the socket. Probably cables, but the thought of standing on Prowl’s desk and looking inside the hole where the eye used to be reduced the tension a little.

Because the way the other eye was looking was a little unsettling.

„So you are lieutenant Nakadai Miko” the mech spoke.

Miko grinned. This was obviously a day for forced grins.

„My fame precedes me? So you are Prowl. Your fame precedes you definitely. Nice to meet you.”

The chairs standing in front of the desk moved, as both women approached, the parts shifting and adjusting to the smaller size, then rising enough to place the visitors on the eye level with the owner of the office. Sari looked at this with fascination, Miko couldn’t help but think about the sentio metallico chairs Ratri had consumed.

Possibly, Prowl will ask about those too, she realized suddenly. Shit.

She kept smiling.

Prowl wasn’t smiling at all. Maybe he was unable to do it. Maybe he kept it for other occasions.

„Yes, lieutenant Nakadai, your fame precedes you. I read the reports and you probably are aware, that I worked closely with your superiors during the investigation concerning the assassination. And the opinions your superiors have of you are really high. And you” he looked at Sari „Must be Sari Sumdac. I have files on you as well. More precisely – they concern your caretaker,” He didn’t use the word „father”, either because of the fact it didn’t really have any meaning for mechanoids, or because of the fact Sari was adopted.

„What do you have about him?” Sari asked, visibly interested.

„I believe, you are aware, Sari Sumdac, that your father is on our list of human scientists, who participated in reverse engineering of our technology. As far as I know, you were trained by him and participated in some of his experiments...” Prowl took one of the datapads piling on his desk and looked at it, his sole eye narrowed, but some mechanism twitched and moved inside the empty socket as well. Miko couldn’t help but look at it with fascination. „As a matter of fact, you participate in one now. Experimental sentient AI?” he shook his head. „Not the first time organics attempt at something like this.”

„Well, yes” Sari said. She squirmed on her chair. „I am aware of this.”

„With all due respect” Miko interrupted. „Is there any reason for such a detailed background check? I was informed, we are here to testify on the sentio metallico smuggling case? Or am I wrong?”

„You are not wrong, but I like to know with whom I am talking.”

„Obviously information is crucial at your position,” Sari said. „And I guess that is why we were sent to speak directly with you and not with some other law enforcer?”

„Obviously.” Prowl agreed. „I was already briefed by Fortress Maximus, what I need now are some confirmation and your statement. Those should be recorded.”

„We expect that,” Miko said.

„Good. Then, lieutenant Nakada Miko, Sari Sumdac, tell me about the circumstances in which you had met former Decepticons, Acid Storm, and Blackout.”

They started to tell the story – with Prowl sometimes interrupting for additional questions. Miko noticed, of course, when his mouth shifted into a smile at the mention of Starscream. Then he asked about possible other names mentioned or the names of the other mecha, including the dead minibot – Miko denied and Sari confirmed Miko’s words (Blackout mentioned Shatter, but Miko omitted this fact with Fort Max before and with Prowl now. Sari just followed.). Then, the entire discussion over the minibot’s death, with Prowl confused, when Miko quoted what Fortress Maximus and Missfire had said about „invisible sparkeater” - but no questions about Ratri and only one question about the missing chair.

„Should we return the other one?” Miko asked innocently.

Prowl frowned.

„Now it has no point. The recording will be used to get some explanation with the human engineers on Earth, including professor Isaac Sumdac, but I see no need in you giving the chair back. We are more worried about the sentio metallico Blackout and Acid Storm took.

„Because of Starscream,” Sari said.

Prowl only nodded. No explanation, but really, neither Miko nor Sari expected any.

„Thank you for assistance, lieutenant Nakadai Miko, Sari Sumdac. Your testimony will be important evidence in the ongoing investigation. Lieutenant, if you may, I’d like to speak with you alone and off the record.”

Miko looked at Sari, who squeezed her fingers quickly.

„It’s all right, love. Take care” she said. „I’ll wait outside.

The chair moved to let her down and out of the office. Miko was left alone.

She looked into Prow’s single eye. Really, why didn’t this guy…

Maybe Verity knew. Verity told her to kick Prowl’s ass but didn’t exactly explain why. Miko tried to recall everything she knew about them. Dangerously practical. An Autobot enforcer and strategist… somehow disgraced after the war, but why? But now, now he was the Internal Security Advisor on Cybertron and this function seemed a little… vague. And from what Miko knew from her previous, well, assignment, this meant no less than the head of intelligence.

But his eye didn’t make sense. If he was so pragmatic, why didn’t he replace his missing eye?

He did something he regrets, Miko thought. This is why he didn’t fix his eye. This is his pain.

Maybe she imagined this – but it made Prowl a little more sympathetic?

She still wanted to look inside this black hole.

„This is going to be off the record, lieutenant,” Prowl repeated.

„How do I know you don’t have any recording device that is inbuilt?”

Prowl smiled.

„You don’t, of course. But I would like you to notice the fact, that you have a communication device that is connected to your ship and that gathers information as well, namely, the information on your current safety, as I expect. And it can be used to record our conversation as well.”

Miko bit her teeth and turned the communicator off.

„Here it is,” she said. „The data it would gather wouldn’t be sent anywhere, but have it.”

„I did not expect that from you, lieutenant.”

„Well, I did it anyway. Are you turning off any recording device except your brain?”

Prowl’s mouth twitched in what was supposedly a smile.

„It is done, lieutenant. Now, let's discuss what I was going to tell you.”

„Let's do that,” Miko agreed.

„You must be aware, lieutenant, that I know what your mission on the Citrix station was.”

Miko nodded.

„I did not do it if you want to thank me,” she said.

„Oh, I know. But I need to find the mech who did.”

„Wasn’t he working for you?”

Prowl frowned.

„This is what Marissa claims, of course. She is convinced I sent him. No, lieutenant, I did not and I cannot find him, and that concerns me.”

„He did what we all wanted, didn’t he? Besides, if not him, then me.”

„Oh, yes, he was very convenient for Marissa, so that she could keep her assassin safe. You did well letting him do the job to have your hands clean. But I guess you had already got Marissa’s appreciation. What I need is the entire knowledge of the mech using the name...” Prowl frowned again, and this was a very disapproving frown „...Orion Pax.”

„I was already told, why the name is significant.” Miko shrugged. „And really, I know nothing about this mech. I guess if someone does, it is Soundwave? Have you asked him?”

„Of course I did, lieutenant, but as you might expect, Soundwave will share the information with me only, when he finds it useful.”

„Or you could just trust each other and, I don’t know, share?” Miko muttered. „Or maybe I expect too much.”

„You do, lieutenant, you do. And I advise you not to be so insolent. I am on your side, but not everyone around is. And there are some facts, lieutenant, that don’t really match. The armor, for example. It was in a report you gave to Marissa – and now you apparently have it again, despite you claiming you left it with Soundwave.”

Miko shrugged.

„You could ask him. He sent it to me.”

„Which makes no sense and you know it. Why would a former member of Decepticon command give armor to a human?”

„Because I saved Frenzy’s life, maybe? This was in my report too. Or do you think I smuggled the armor on Earth? General Fairborn would find it out, I assure you.”

„Or she would advise you to add the part of leaving the armor back so the council didn’t get it?”

Damn. Miko could have thought of this version.

On the other hand, if Prowl consulted with the general…

She shrugged.

„There are official versions and the versions that are true. You know this. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be talking to me now.”

„Yes, lieutenant, obviously” Prowl’s eye narrowed again and again – the mechanisms in the empty socket moved too as if the removed eye was still there.

When did he lose this eye? Why didn’t he replace it? It should be an easy enough task, wasn’t it?

„I know you believe I have some crucial information. I don’t.”

„Lieutenant… I might believe you… or I might not. You are not telling the entire truth and we both know that.”

Miko froze, a cold shiver down her spine.

What… what did he know?

Prowl spoke, his voice calm, emotionless, almost like Soundwave’s.

„The council stopped searching for Megatron’s killer because they wanted Megatron dead. Marissa Faireborn wanted Megatron dead. I wanted Megatron dead. I have a hard time believing Soundwave wanted Megatron dead, but this is not impossible. Megatron is dead, yes. What was planned was done. But there are details there I cannot understand, and I like to understand the details. I like to have the knowledge. I believe you have it – maybe you are aware of it, maybe not. I won’t be pushing you farther, though. Consider it my act of goodwill. Everything you did by far worked for me and for Cybertron. But, lieutenant Nakadai Miko, I need to warn you: don’t try to play this game. You are smart, but you have no experience and people older than you played it already. You have luck, you have armor, you have people who are supporting you: one day you will lose this support. And this, lieutenant, would be a tragedy, don’t you think.”

Miko nervously shook her head.

„I’m not playing anything.”

„Then there is nothing you should worry about, is it?” Prowl smiled and this smile looked innocent now as if he never tried to threaten Miko or anyone else.

„Yes. I’m glad we agree. Oh, by the way, Verity Carlo says hi.”

She watched Prowl’s face to change expression to surprise. Oh, you don’t know everything, Internal Security Advisor Prowl. You have no idea I spoke with Verity.

„What did she say?” he asked.

Miko shrugged.

„Just that I should kick you… um, whatever you call your backside. I obviously am not going to do this, this would be a diplomatic incident, wouldn’t it?”

Prowl said nothing.

He didn’t know, Verity talked to me, Miko thought. Now he knows, but he still has no idea that she didn’t share this one information I believe she has, which is crucial.

Fuck, what am I doing? Am I making it worse? Is he thinking now I’m trying to threaten him?

She left, feeling horrible.

„This is a bad day,” she told Sari. „A terribly bad day.”

„What did he want?”

„Warnings. He thinks I know more than I know, damn.”

„We could have expected that,” Sari said. „I wanted to see this planet, now I’m not sure anymore...”

„This is just the circumstances that are far from perfect. We will find this medic, solve our problems and then everything will go back to normal… more or less normal. Miko” she changed the topic. „Do you think in another universe I… this other version of me, that you had seen… does she know Prowl? Other versions of Prowl? Because I have this feeling as if I should expect something from him, and he is not that. And I feel… disappointed.”

“Just don’t let the rest of our stay here to be disappointing,” Miko answered.

She would like to kiss Sari on the head, but they both wore protective helmets, so kissing must have waited until they returned to the dome.

  
  


  
  



	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are many things happening on Cybertron right now, and both girls will see only parts of it. The original plan was to write "Strangers..." together with another planned story, but the pandemics did what it did to my plans...

Sari was conversing with Ratri, and Miko was left alone. Leaving the dome was not possible at the moment – even if Miko wanted to do it, leaving alone was not recommended and Swivel seemed to be occupied. But inside the dome, she was able to move freely.

It was a big place and mostly uninhabited yet, many parts unfinished. Probably in the future, it was going to become a real center for the alien cultures visiting Cybertron, but this hadn’t happened yet.

Miko wondered, if in the past, in the parallel universe this version of Cybertron maintained any contacts with the alien cultures. And if the Cybertron of this universe ever tried for any diplomacy… before the war, maybe.

Now the current government of the planet really did everything to maintain good relationships and to build a place friendly for organics. Miko was appreciating this effort.

She didn’t appreciate the fact, that she met Michael Rosales during her stroll through the almost empty dome. The man apparently didn’t leave yet – and he approached Miko as soon, as he noticed her.

„Lieutenant Nakadai.”

There was a sly smile on the man’s face and Miko didn’t like it.

Just give me a reason to punch you, she thought. Just a preemptive hit on your face, nothing would make me feel better.

„Mr. Rosales” she put on her best fake smile. „I presume you wish to discuss the Citrix station.”

„Indeed. Sadly, we might be watched right now.”

„Oh? Is what you wanted to discuss a secret?”

„I don’t know. You tell me. What does the general want?”

Miko rose her eyebrow.

„The general?”

„General Faireborn. Marissa plans something since she had sent you.”

„I have no idea what you are talking about.”

„Oh, but you are. And there is no need to hide this from me. We both work for our planet, for humanity, to carve the place for our people in this dangerous universe. We both have our people’s best interests at heart. And you, let’s say I’m confident that you, despite your age, are Marissa’s best agent. Your achievement is the most impressive.”

No, he cannot be serious, something in Miko almost panicked. He cannot.

„My only achievement is that I didn’t allow myself to get killed and returned. Nothing else.”

„But we all know, what you did, lieutenant. For so many, many years so many people tried to do this… and it was you who finally did it. You are a hero, lieutenant Nakadai and you should be hailed as one.”

Of course. Of course, he is serious.

Miko sighed.

„Listen, I already discussed it today. With Prowl. You know who Prowl is?”

„Of course I do.”

„Then you must suspect he told me more or less the same. And my answer was the same: I have no idea who did „this thing”, but it was not me.”

Rosales nodded.

„So we will keep the official version. All right, lieutenant. But if you ever needed help on your mission, then you should know you are not alone. You will always have my support.”

A mission. So he believed there was a mission. Miko forced herself to smile a little more and to deny again, but she was already sure – this man believed her to be some kind of a special agent.

In this situation punching him would only confirm his suspicions. Probably anything she would do would have.

When he left, wishing her a pleasant stay on Cybertron and hoping they will meet soon on Citrix Station (not in your dreams, asshole!) Miko spent a moment leaning her forehead against the metal wall.

„Fuck it” she cursed to herself.

The man wanted something. The man hoped for something. The man would be able to do some more research and discover all the little details that didn’t match. As Prowl did.

Was she getting into a trap?

But it was not her in danger. If someone discovered the truth, then… then…

Slowly. One task at a time.

She returned to the quarters. Sari must have returned there ealrier because she was waiting.

„Do you want to go to see around, sweetheart?” Miko asked her. Damn, she wanted to see some of the planet.

„Something happened,” Sari guessed.

„Rosales did. Both Prowl and him – this is far too much for just one day. I’m not in the mood to talk about it right now. Let us find Swivel and ask them for this trip they promised.

Soon after that both of them and the little mech were standing by the exit from the dome.

„Is there something you would like to see?” Swivel asked.

Both women looked at each other.

„To be honest,” Miko said in the end „We don’t know? I mean, this is the „New” Cybertron, and even if we had any knowledge of the planet, it would be about the „original” one.”

Swivel nodded.

„I understand. Let me take you to a standard trip then. It is safe for the small organics and has some history of both versions of the planet.

„Were you born on the „old” Cybertron or on the „new”?” Sari asked.

„Born is not the correct word” Swivel explained. „I know it is natural for some organic species to use it, but we are not „born”. I was forged. My spark was ignited on the new hot spot on Luna 1, and a protoform emerged from the sentio metallico that generated around my spark. The Lunarian hot spot is a new one, that appeared after the destruction of original Cybertron and appearance of the new planet, so I have never seen the old planet, sadly. But I know it’s history,” the mech smiled.

„You are young,” Sari realized.

„Yes. Yes, I am. But that means I’m from a new generation that will lead the planet into the future,” Swivel said explained. It was a straightforward answer, and they seemed to agree with the statement but didn’t express any special pride. „Please, I will explain some nuances of our society when we go. Could you step back?”

Miko nodded. They watched mech’s frame shifting into the alt mode – it was a scooter indeed, a little larger than a standard Vespa, big enough for the two humans to ride it.

Sari looked at this, blinked.

„Are we going to...”

„This is the function of my alt-mode,” Swivel said. „If I was uncomfortable with that, I wouldn’t do it. And on Earth there are enough of our people by now, that you should be used to? Or am I wrong?”

Sari looked at Miko. She shook her head.

It is about Ratri, Miko guessed. But Sari shouldn’t show it, obviously, not yet, not before they talked to someone trustworthy.

„Come on, Sari, it is normal. I’ve done it before,” Miko said, taking her place.

„I know,” Sari agreed, sitting behind her and embracing Miko’s waist.

„So you’ve met some of our people before?” Swivel asked. They were an interesting combination of calm politeness and curiosity. „Besides Fortress Maximus and Prowl, that is.”

„It happened to me,” Miko said. „There is an enclave on Earth, too”

„I’d like to visit Earth someday,” Swivel said. „It must be a fascinating planet! I mean, there are so many of our people there… but for now, I’m here and I get to meet fascinating aliens. Like you.”

They took the turn, entering a wide road filled with vehicles that were probably with no exception mecha in their alt-modes. It was a different thing to know the planet and its inhabitants work that way – a very different one was to see it with one’s own eyes.

Swivel was going fast, so Miko needed to hold on tightly and Sari held on tightly to her. Then the little mech left the fastlane and the next road they entered was full of mecha walking in their root modes.

„You have separated ways for those on wheels and those without,” Miko noted.

„Obviously,” Swivel answered, shifting back to his basic form. „It would be a mess otherwise.”

The mecha here had multiple shapes, although most of them were lightweight, with no heavy armor, resembling more Swivel, than all the other mecha Miko had met before. The way some of the frames looked like was… delicate. Fragile. Openwork.

Civilians not build for war. Natives to the alternate universe.

Among them, Miko noticed two mecha with face resembling Swivel’s – the same shape of the nose, round googles in place of regular eyes. There were also several one-eyed mecha… no, not one-eyed like Prowl, but faceless, with a singular round lens in the place of a face, no mouth or nose, nothing. But even weirder than that was one mech sitting under one of the buildings. Their head was bowed down and weirdly square, they rose it when both humans and their guide passed by. It was a flat, simple screen, not a regular head. On its surface, Miko noticed streams of symbols and glyphs appearing and disappearing.

This was unsettling: not the screen alone, not the symbols appearing on it, but the pose of the mech resembling someone sick, depressed, and extremely poor.

„Please don’t stare,” Swivel asked. „This is a tragedy we are trying to reverse, but for now it is not possible to help every one of them.”

„What… what happened?” Miko asked.

„Before the planet shifted to this universe it was ruled by a government that… did it as a punishment. Removing the face, removing the voice… I was told it had been practiced in this universe as well, but not to such extreme. The current government tries to help, but there are thousands and thousands of both flatheads and faceless, and it will take lots of time and resources, and possibly we will not be able to save every one of them.”

„Damn” Miko muttered.

„Is there something we can help with?” Sari asked.

Swivel smiled sadly.

„Not to our knowledge, but I appreciate your concern. Let’s go. I’m sorry you had to see it.”

„At least we know about something that bothers your society,” Sari said.

„Unfortunately, there is more than one thing. But thank you.”

„More than one thing...” Miko muttered.

There was a symbol painted on the wall in a back alley behind the faceless mech. Someone tried to scratch it, but it was there, purple and menacing.

There was another one in the city square they entered: freshly painted on the socle of some destroyed monument. The monument was enormous for the human scale, and so was the socle and so was the purple symbol. There were some glyphs painted above the symbol. Several mecha with a bucket of some kind of solvent and cans of paint were gathered, there, ready to remove this sign of political vandalism.

Swivel frowned their face and made a displeased sound.

„Seems like an unpleasant occurrence?” Miko asked.

„Happens, unfortunately. For some mecha here, what remained of the Decepticons...”

„I’ve heard about it,” Miko nodded. „What is written there?”

Something hissed in Swivel’s vocalizer.

„Megatron will save us”

At this point, Miko was already tired of putting on her best set of poker faces so she just burst into laughter.

„Miko!” Sari hissed, grabbing her arm.

„On top of everything… this...” Miko tried to stop laughing. She just couldn’t. This was the reaction to all the piled-up stress and bad feelings.

She barely noticed Swivel making some signs toward her, and when she did, it was too late. Something, or rather someone hit her back, knocking her down and losing balance themselves.

Miko barely managed to avoid a mech falling on her. Good it was a minibot, only slightly larger than their guide.

Sari shouted, ran towards Miko to help her stand up. The minibot jumped up as if they panicked.

„Oh, I’m sorry, so sorry!” they exclaimed.

If they had a face, it was obscured by a white mask and blue visor, that looked like fused together. Despite their presence, the mech was very expressive – maybe because of their gesticulation, or maybe because of how they used their voice?

„It is all right,” Miko said.

Even if the mech fell on her, she would probably go out of this unscratched. She smiled.

„It is all right, nothing happened.”

The mech looked at her for a long while.

„Are you a human?” they asked.

„Definitely.”

„I’ve never seen a real human!” the mech exclaimed with enthusiasm. „I slept through the war and I’ve never been to Earth and never had any opportunity, but…” They looked towards two other mecha standing nearby and looking at them – one a large flyer with dark purple plating and horned helmet, the other a blue „faceless”, whose pose had something birdlike to it. „I guess my conjunx and my friend are waiting, sorry, it was nice to meet you.”

Miko watched, as the minibot approached the other two mecha, the horned flyer taking their hand instantly.

„I wanted to see what they wrote here,” Miko overheard the minibot saying.

„We both see what is written. They are going to paint it over anyway.”

„I get it. But it is a little unfair, don’t you think? When at least some mecha appreciate...”

The rest was inaudible when the three left the square.

„At least I stopped laughing,” Miko said. „Sorry. I have a… well, interesting day.”

„Do you mean „bad” when you say interesting?” Swivel asked. “Is it irony? I’m not sure if I got your intonation right.”

Miko nodded.

„Exactly. I’m very sorry, but this is not how I imagined my visit to your planet. But it is interesting...” she looked up towards where the monument once stood. The cleaning team had already started to get rid of the symbol and the glyphs. That’s for the better, Miko thought. „What was here?”

„This was the statue of Primus in his warrior aspect, it was commissioned after the Functionist Council came to power, and Iacon was renamed Primax. The statue was destroyed as the planet crossed over to this universe… and since the way, the Functionists saw Primus was not very popular, then… Well, rebuilding it would mean support for the Functionist ideas. Some would love to do it: some prefer to paint anti-systemic slogans on the socle, as you see.”

„Yes. We see. That is an interesting choice of anti-systemic slogans.”

„Ambassador Park told us, that some mecha from New Cybertron Idlize Megatron,” Sari reminded.

„They do,” Swivel confirmed. „Megatron was… well, he led the rebellion in the parallel universe.”

„I’ve heard of this,” Miko muttered. „Now he is dead.”

„Some mecha believe he is not. Some say the assassination on the Citrix Station was a cover-up for his escape.”

Swivel said it quietly, but it was enough for Miko to get tense.

„Which… mecha?”

„Some from here, the former rebels, the supporters of Anti Vocationist League.”

„And you…?”

Swivel laughed.

„I’m a Lunarian! I was born after all of this! I’m not looking towards the past that is not going to return. My generation will one day write a neutral analysis of the past of our people: but this has to wait, for now. We are still wounded. We need a few more millennia. For what I know, Megatron was a complex figure and his actions were crucial to both planets.”

„And in the end, everything comes back to him.”

Swivel shrugged.

„I’m sorry, but yes.”

„You don’t have to be sorry,” Miko said. „I know it already.”

Maybe she would add something but suddenly the ground under their feet shook and sudden explosion pierced Miko’s ears.

***

It was all happening at once.

At one moment Sari was hoping Miko won’t say something stupid, at the next everything around, was falling apart, one of the buildings surrounding the square exploding and mecha doing the thing apparently every sentient society does in such situation: panicking.

Sari noticed a pair of vehicles, one of them red, the other one dark blue, leaving the collapsed building, changing shapes first into the robot modes and then again: into the red jet and the dark blue helicopter. Someone shouted some flyer jumped in the air to follow the two. Someone was screaming something, but in the chaos that ensued Sari couldn’t really recognize the words – or was it the translation system that malfunctioned?

„Everything all right, Sari?” Ratri asked in her ear.

„With us yes, I guess, but what happened here…”

„Is everything all right?” she heard an unknown voice.

She saw a mech, another flyer, only with more streamline, rounded plating in white, blue and red, very elegant, polished to a high shine. The mech smiled politely, but there was something about his smile Sari didn’t think she liked.

„Yes, yes we are, I think… Miko? Are you all right?”

„I am.”

„Thank Primus!” the shiny mech exclaimed, maybe a little too loud? „Putting our guests in danger? This had gone too far!”

Yes, he was too loud. It was not just Miko and Sari, who should hear him, but possibly all the mecha on the square, including the police who had just arrived.

„This is not the Cybertron we want to show to the rest of the galaxy! We strive for rebuilding our troubled society and enter a new era, and there are still those among us, who do everything to prevent this evolution. You have all just been witness to this horrible act of terrorism, that not only destroyed one of the public buildings but also put in danger two visitors from Earth. We need to prevent those situations from happening!”

Sari blinked – once, then twice. What is that she had thought, but the mech’s attention was already on both her and Miko again.

„Please, let me take both of you to safety. This is clearly not the best place for two fragile human beings right now.”

„With all due respect, senator...” Swivel started, but the shiny flyer didn’t allow them to finish the sentence.

„This is my duty as a government representative to take care of our guests. How would our planet look, if I disregarded this duty?”

Sari noticed, that Miko is terrified. This was the catastrophe Miko was awaiting from the beginning. Whoever this new mech, this senator was, he was not someone they should refuse – but at the same time, it seemed to be a bad idea. From the way he was speaking, Sari knew already – he was intending to use the explosion, this supposed terrorist attack – for his own gain. And for this gain, he planned to use both humans as well.

Sari grabbed Miko’s hand and smiled. Possibly the mech couldn’t see the expressions on their faces, hidden behind the helmets.

„Thank you for your protection, senator. It would be impolite to reject your invitation. Of course, we accept it, and we are honored with your invitation.”

The senator smiled widely.

„Excellent. Allow me to take you with me then. My cockpit is big enough for the two of you. Our guest will return to the dome this night cycle, I promise,” he added, looking at Swivel.

He reached out his hand.

„I don’t fucking like it,” Miko stated, turning the communication channel in the helmet to private. „I don’t trust every single word he says. I feel it. This is horribly wrong and we will die a horrible death...”

„I don’t think so” Sari tried to calm her down. „I don’t trust him either, but he is too concerned with his public relations to kill us. He needs us.”

„And we have no fucking idea, for what. I wanted to stay away from Cybertronian politics...”

„Miko, love, sweetheart. Please...”

It was unlike Miko to panic. She was shaking inside the suit, but the senator didn’t notice that. As both humans stod on his hand, he put them towards the cockpit and then shifted into a sleek, elegant plane – armed, but at the same time more beautiful and more comfortable, that it was necessary.

The seats inside were really soft, Sari noticed. What were they made of?

Sari tried to concentrate on those seats and not on the fact that she is again inside someone and how uncomfortable it is to be inside someone considering Ratri and everything.

„I apologize for the situation” they heard the voice inside the cockpit. „It was terrible. Are you scared?”

„No,” Miko said.

She lied, Sari was aware of it. Damn, Miko, who was fearless in the face of the enemy or going into the unknown, was put out of the balance by political intrigues.

„I’m happy to hear this. I am aware, that considering my past my presence can be unsettling for the humans, but I assure you, I’m not going to hurt you. My past is shameful and...”

„Oh, just introduce yourself!” Miko snaped.

Did she have the same horrible feeling Sari had?

„You don’t know who I am?” the mech asked surprised.

„Some kind of a politician, I have enough politicians for today, really! But I have no choice! Listen I went here because I...”

„Miko!” Sari shouted.

„I just have enough...”

The mech, the senator, made some kind of noise and landed on the enormous balcony on top of a high building. He transformed into his root mode as swiftly, as he changed into a plane before. Now he stood in front of both women, impressive and shiny, and with a smile on his face Sari didn’t like at all and Miko possibly even less.

„Forgive me my rudeness and my assumption, that you recognized me. It must have been a false one. In this case, let me introduce myself. I am Starscream.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took the grafitti idea from the amazing "Send us a Blindfold, Send us a Blade" by Trinary. Go read this fic, it will make you cry! (And also, New Cybertron is a mess)


	11. Chapter 11

“I am Starscream.”

„And I,” Miko said, „Am out of here.”

Sari grabbed her arm.

„This is impolite,” she hissed.

In her communicator, Ratri was sending her some stream of… something. Sari didn’t even have time to answer them.

„Fuck impolite. I’m out. And I don’t care,” Miko added, looking Starscream straight into his purple eyes „I just have enough.”

Starscream smiled. This was still a polite smile, but the unpleasant undertones were more visible now.

Sari shook her head. Someone here was going to do something they were going to regret later.

„I understand your situation,” Starscream said, his voice now having a little more shrill tone than before. „But I would like to point out, that you are not able to fly and you don’t know the city, so returning on your own would be… a little problem, wouldn’t it?”

Miko stepped forwards. Sari knew this stance: her girlfriend was beyond the point of being stressed. This was the fearless Miko ready to fight.

And she didn’t have her armor.

This didn’t seem to bother her. Sari grabbed her arm to drag her away, but it was not enough.

„Are you threatening us? Because I have enough of others threatening me!”

„I don’t think this is an appropriate choice of words...” Starscream started. His voice was entering this dangerous area that was indeed a threat.

„It is,” Sari agreed. „We accepted your invitation, senator Starscream,” she put extra stress on „senator”. „Because we understand your point when you said this is a problem for your planet and your society. My partner had a very bad day. She doesn’t mean to disrespect you, but she is allowed to have her doubts.”

„You don’t negotiate with Starscream,” Ratri hissed into Sari’s ear. Or was it really Ratri? This didn’t sound like her. This anger was not hers.

We have no choice right now, Sari thought, I’m sorry, my dearest, we need to talk as soon as possible, but not now. Now I need to get me and Miko out of this situation.

Starscream, who was, luckily, unaware of the sudden hatred towards him, smiled again, as politely, as he was able too, although something twitched in his face.

„I’m happy that we understand each other. And I can understand your partner having a bad day, of course. You were in quite an unpleasant situation and I failed to introduce myself properly.”

„He failed everything” the voice-that-wasn’t-Ratri hissed in Sari’s ear.

„We haven’t introduced ourselves as well. I’m Sari Sumdac, this is lieutenant Nakadai Miko. Senator Starscream, could you please let us speak in private? I need to calm my partner down and then we will join you.”

The mech nodded.

„I understand the situation. Of course. I will use this time to inform my own companion of your visit.”

The balcony door slid open and Starscream left.

They were now alone on a big… well, the balcony was the best description, although there wasn’t any railing around it and the whole thing was without a doubt designed for landing place for flyers who inhabited the apartment on the top of a high tower. Below them, they could see the panorama of Iacon/Primax. The view was amazing, but right now there was no time to admire it.

„Thank you,” Miko said. „For a moment I forgot I left the armor in the ship.”

„You provoked him.”

„I know. And I also know he has no gain in killing us. I think he was genuine in stating „helping” us is in his best interest. But.”

„He has an opinion,” Sari agreed.

„Megatron’s second in command.”

„Formerly. Are you bothered by this?”

„Unless it turns out he has my files as well, then no. But it was just out of a sudden and after Prowl and Rosales… I have enough assholes for today, so, no. Just no.”

„We have a bigger problem.”

„Ratri?” Miko guessed.

„Ratri. Did she send you the messages?”

„She did send me something,” Miko admitted. „I was too occupied with Starscream to pay attention.”

„Ratri,” Sari called the ship. „Could you tell Miko what you told me?”

„I...” Ratri started. Her voice was confused. „This was out of a sudden. I didn’t expect that. I have no idea why I reacted like this.”

„Yes,” Sari agreed. „But this didn’t come from nowhere.”

„This is Starscream, Sari,” Ratri said. „He was second in command of the Decepticons and he was known as treacherous and unreliable. For what my database says, he had supposedly given his life to fight Unicron, but...”

„...we all know it is hard to really kill a Cybertronian.” Sari ended. Well, Ratri was an example, wasn’t she? “Yes. But your reaction was an emotional one.”

„Yes,” Ratri admitted. „Should I be ashamed of it?”

Again – this didn’t sound like Ratri, but like something – someone – else. Someone alien and full of anger.

„No. We just need to know what you felt.”

„Anger. Hatred. I think Starscream… he had betrayed me as well. The person that existed before I did. I don’t know, what happened, but this is personal.”

„So you were a Decepticon,” Miko guessed.

Ratri was silent. She didn’t know, didn’t want to answer, or was the perspective too disturbing for her?

„Or this was even before the war,” Sari said quickly. “Or this happened in some other circumstances. We don’t know it” Sari pointed out. „Ratri, listen. Right now we, unfortunately, need to deal with Starscream. I’m pretty sure though that he doesn’t want to hurt us.”

„Good, because I have no possibility to eat him at the moment.”

This didn’t sound like a joke. Sari didn’t like it.

Would Ratri want to murder someone just like this, with cold, er, blood?

Sari didn’t ask. There was no time for that.

She really wanted that there was time to solve ongoing problems before new ones appeared.

„Miko. Shall we go? We don’t want to keep the senator waiting.”

***

Starscream was not alone. He had mentioned a companion before – and here she was. Another flyer, as slender and elegant as he was – but definitely of other design.

Probably the most feminine shaped mech I’ve seen by far, Sari thought, trying not to stare because Starscream’s companion was stunning in an unexpected way.

She was red and black, with a narrow waist, curved hips, and chest that make a human being think of something feminine – and attractive – instantly. But it was not only this shape, that made her beautiful but the details as well – an unusually designed helmet, resembling a complex hairstyle, swirling red ornaments on her pale silver face. Did she… did she wear lipstick? Lip paint. Her lips were painted red. Was it an element of the ornaments or something she borrowed from human fashion?

She didn’t look happy, but it was Starscream who was the object of her disapproval. As Miko and Sari entered the room, the feminine bot was yelling at the senator.

„And you jumped right into it, just like that?!”

„I needed to make sure our guests were safe!”

„Safe my aft! I already have at least ten queries asking, why did you put humans in danger! Because they apparently think I am expected to do your damage control!”

„I put them in danger? The terrorist did it!”

„And should I remind you, who those terrorists are, Screamer?”

„First of all, I haven’t meet any of them in my entire function. Second of all, should I remind you I am not a Decepticon for a long time now?”

„And many of mecha here don’t care!”

Starscream snorted.

„It should be their problem, that they judge me by my past, but no, I am never going to be free of the slagging…” He stopped, something hissed in his vents. “That is why I need to make statements! To do something! To...”

The other mech rose their – her? – hand. Something blinked on the screen behind her.

„Wait,” she said.

„What? What now?!” Starscream’s voice was irritated and sounded really shrill.

„Oh, sweet Solus...” the feminine mech muttered, pressing her hand to her forehead. „Now it’s Prowl. He apparently had sent you a request as well. He demands to know what you had done with the humans.”

„Prowl!? What does Prowl want from the humans?!”

Miko stepped into the apartment.

„Sorry to interrupt the discussion,” she said. „But it happened, that we had met Prowl earlier today.”

Starscream’s companion turned her attention to both humans. This gave Starscream time to approach the desk and start doing something there.

The feminine mech smiled politely. She was far better at this than Starscream was. And far, far more genuine.

„Hello. I’m sorry about this entire situation. I am Windblade of Caminus.”

„We had heard of you,” Sari said.

Now she was sure, where did she saw this ornamented face.

„I apologize for Starscream’s rushed behavior. He had the best in mind, right, Screamer?” The last sentence sounded like a hiss.

But Starscream seemed not to hear what she was saying.

„Crucial witnesses in an investigation?!” he exclaimed, after reading something on a screen attached to the desk. „Kidnapping? I haven’t kidnapped anyone!”

„I guess you just need to send Prowl information that we both are all right and under your protection and that we went with Starscream willingly,” Sari said. Because they did go willingly. More or less.

„I will do this. Starscream, could you please let me do it, love?” she smiled at him sweetly. „We need to do some damage control.”

„I’m perfectly capable of doing damage control, thank you very much. What do you think I did when I swooped the humans out of the site?”

„Let me deal with Prowl. You don’t want to deal with Prowl.”

„Even Prowl doesn’t want to deal with Prowl. Fine, Windblade. Do it your way.”

„Excellent! Meanwhile, could you be so kind and set the atmospheric control on Earth settings so our guests could take the helmets off?”

„Of course I can”

Windblade looked at both women again. She is stunning, Sari thought. She is absolutely stunning.

A traitorous thought crept into her mind, that the person, that Ratri used to be might have been stunning as well.

„You need to wait a little more, I’m terribly sorry.”

„I’m starting to have fun here,” Miko said, but Windblade was already by the desk.

„Hi, Prowl. I’m calling because of our human guests. They are both all right with Starscream and me. There was a little misunderstanding on the way, but I assure you, that Starscream wanted to take care of their safety. You must understand, the terrorist attack happening so close to them doesn’t look good at all. Yes, of course. I am aware of that. But you know me Prowl. I have it covered. Thank you.”

She turned the communicator off but didn’t leave the desk. She let out a sound of relief and pressed some buttons again.

„Hi, it’s Windblade. Could you come? I need someone to take care of Screamer when I’m cleaning his mess. Yes, again. Why you? Because Skywarp is not talking to him. Again. So that it leaves us with you. What happened? A terrorist attack happened, again – and two humans. And Screamer making statements too quickly. All right. You are a sweetspark and I owe you one.”

The air in the room hissed and the readings in the suits showed a rising level of oxygen. Sari was relieved when she was able to take the helmet off. This was far more comfortable and it felt genuinely better to talk to the others without this layer of synthetic materials.

„Whom did you call?” Starscream asked, approaching Windblade.

„Rodimus.”

„Why did you call him?”

„Because I need someone to deal with you while I deal with your scrap. Now please, could we take care of our guests hear. I’m sorry, again. I’d ask you to make yourself comfortable, but I’m afraid I don’t even have anything to drink to offer you.”

„The atmosphere is more than we were expecting, thank you,” Sari said. „And now we failed to introduce ourselves to you. I’m Sari Sumdac, my partner here is lieutenant Nakadai Miko.”

Miko threw her a murderous glance, but Sari decided, that this is a good situation to use military rank – despite the fact that Miko despised it.

Windblade offered them a seat on the desk – no size-adjusting chairs as those Prowl used, but this way both humans were able to look at the mech as she sat on her own chair. Starscream was standing behind her, his expression displeased.

„Lieutenant Nakadai Miko...” Windblade repeated. „I’ve heard this name somewhere...”

„The Citrix Station,” Miko said, her voice tired. „Too many people ask me about that and I really have enough of it. So, long story short, I was there, I witnessed the attack, I was kidnapped.”

Starscream changed his position instantly. He rushed towards them, his eyes fixed on Miko. Without the helmet, Miko’s face was easy to read, and Cybertronian expression was similar enough to the human ones.

But Miko had time to calm down. She winced, yes, but looked mostly tired now, not angry or scared.

„No, I don’t know who killed Megatron, sorry, I’ve been asked about this thousands of times now.”

But Starscream only snorted.

„I don’t care who offlined the old fragger! Of course, I’d thanked them if I knew, but there are more important things. It was you who was kidnapped by Shatter!”

„Well, so to speak, yes!”

„And now, you are caught in another of her terrorist attacks!”

Miko let out a very displeased sound.

„Screamer” Windblade’s voice had a warning to it. „I think this was something out guest had also been asked about thousands of times. I suppose this was also something she had already discussed with Prowl, am I right?”

Miko sat there, trying to keep it quiet. Sari embraced her and took the initiative.

„We will appreciate not being asked that again, thank you. Miko is tired already, as we had mentioned.”

There was a chirp of the door.

“It’s for you,” Windblade said to Starscream. “Go.”

“Why would I...”

She pushed him delicately like she was pushing a disobedient child.

“Screamer,” she said sweetly. “Come on. Get some drinks. Unwind. You have much on your mind. Go on.”

„All right, I am going, since you are throwing me out. But you will have to deal with me again tomorrow.”

„I will. I definitely will. No, go, have fun.”

Starscream left hesitantly – towards the other door leading from the apartment. Windblade shook her head, then she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

„I’m sorry again. Now that he is gone, we can speak more freely. Had he done something inappropriate?”

„He tried to threaten us,” Miko said.

„He did it because you started to panic,” Sari noted.

„I don’t panic!”

„You did. I needed to calm both of you down!”

Windblade laughed. It suited her, Sari thought, despite this painted face reminded of some kind of scenic make-up or ceremonial mask. But Windblade was expressive and if not the ornaments, her face would look like the face of a woman no older than both Sari and Miko.

Which was misleading. All of this was – the seemingly feminine shape of the mech’s frame, the prettiness of her face, the red color of her lips. This was something very different than what humans used to manifest their gender. The fact, that Windblade was a „she” was a coincidence or maybe just the effect of some cultural influence of other races. Windblade wasn’t a woman. She wasn’t even a female mech. She was a she because of how some linguistic things about identity, translated to human languages. But she didn’t have gender in a human sense and she definitely didn’t have an equivalent of biological gender.

But, to Sari’s eyes, she was feminine and beautiful.

Note that for example, Starscream didn’t have some elements of his look that could be perceived as feminine. He had a narrow waist, and his feet were built in a way that resembled high-heeled shoes. And there was definitely something feminine or androgynous in the way he moved.

Only „feminine” and „androgynous”, or „masculine” - that were human categories.

I made Ratri a she because I wanted her to be a she. But the mech, whose spark and nightmares are there inside her – would they approve this imposing of human categories on them, on Ratri? What was their identification? How different were they from Ratri?

Were they beautiful? Rang again in Sari’s mind.

Sari remembered the voice telling her not to trust Starscream and she shivered. It was Ratri’s voice because it used her voice coding, but at the same time, it was not entirely Ratri speaking.

Windblade looked Sari straight into the face.

„Believe me,” she said, „I know how it is to make a calm down someone who has a tendency to act before they think.”

Miko slapped her face with her hand and let out a long whine.

„Miko is able to think before she acts,” Sari said. „Only sometimes she is not using this ability.”

She was sure, that in this context Miko and Starscream were a little… similar. She didn’t say that. Miko wouldn’t want this comparison.

„It’s not that!” Miko exclaimed. „I only had just realized what is going on. I was wondering why the two of you are working together, but, it is obvious now. It is not just working… you are interfacing.”

Now it was Sari who really, really wanted to do a facepalm.

„Miko, seriously?”

Windblade blinked, completely surprised by Miko’s observation.

„Those are things that happen, between mecha. As far as I know, this is also something humans do? And if I am not mistaken, you use the word „partner” in its meaning that indicates intimate relationship?”

„Yes,” Miko said. „I mean… this is my perspective as a human, but when I look at you people, I have no idea, if you are seriously fucked up or if you are doing everything to become the healthiest society out there. I mean, every single Cybertronian couple I meet seems to be seriously messed up? I mean...”

Windblade laughed.

„All right, I see your point. And no, I wouldn’t call what I and Starscream have a model for a healthy relationship. You are right, in our case, we are a little messed up. And it is not exactly what most humans would call a relationship either”

„And you are political opponents,” Sari pointed out.

„As in „never trust Starscream”? Yes. As in „We sometimes work together towards the good of our people”? Not exactly. He is can be brilliant and soft-spoken when he is not a power-hungry egomaniac with messed up self-esteem.”

„Let me guess: rarely?”

Windblade laughed again.

„More or less,” she admitted. „Actually, more often, than you could expect. But the good thing here is that thanks to that I was here to take care of you and for all the mess he had made and…” she interrupted and looked at the communication device on the desk, behind both humans. „Oh, for Solus’ sake, what now?! Excuse me for a moment.”

She turned the device on and now both Sari and Miko were able to see the image projected into the air.

It was Prowl, his face stern and scary as when both women were talking to him.

„I just want you to make sure you will see it,” he said.

Then the image changed.

Miko gasped, loudly. Sari grabbed her arms.

There was a mech with dark red plating and purple symbol on their – her – chest. A red triple changer, Sari remembered. A red triple changer who left the exploded building and flew away.

Shatter, the terrorist.

„People of Cybertron” she was speaking. „I know already, what you are thinking I know, that you are appalled by the explosion that happened today in the city, that some of you call Iacon and some of you – Primax. You speak of a violent act that will be condemned by some politicians sooner or later. But I want you to know, why this act of violence was committed. I want to remind you, why I chose the way I am walking. Why there are still mecha like me needed. Oh, I dream of the world, where there will be no need for resorting to violence, where” there was a twitch in Shatters face, a mocking smirk „freedom is indeed the right of everyone, as someone had once said. But, alas, there is a problem still: we are still kept being deceived. What had you seen this day? An explosion on the main public square of the city some of you know as Iacon, and some of you – as Primax? Yes, that was what happened, but are you aware of what the building that exploded stood for? What it was used for?”

„This is a damn long statement” Miko muttered.

Windblade gave her a long, questioning look.

„What do you mean by it?”

„She is speaking like she was trying to buy herself some time. I’ve met Shatter and she seemed to be a little impatient...”

„She had given some speeches before. One after the attack on the Citrix Station.”

Miko shook her head.

„I didn’t hear it. I don’t know. But this one...”

Sari frowned.

The last thing Miko would want was Shatter to get caught. For many reasons.

„...the obsolece chips that decimated our populace, killing those whom the regime deemed „useless” - in fact killing thousands of innocent mecha, every single one of the more valuable person, than any member of the Functionist Council, our friends, our partners. The chips gathered from them still stored somewhere on this planet, hidden by those, who still hope to rule us. If you see what was left of the building, you will find the device to control them, still active. If you search for who is the owner of the building” Shatter’s face twitched into a smirk again „I believe you will find interesting information.”

„Prowl, you have it?” Windblade asked. The communication device she was using must have been built into her, but with a gesture, she sent the image on the one-eyed mech to another screen so that both humans could see it. „You have your people there?”

„Of course I do. It will be interesting if we find anything.”

„She wants them to find something...” Miko muttered.

„She has some proofs?”

„Maybe. I don’t know. But this is a part of a bigger strategy, she might be impatient, but she thinks… Listen, can we use Ratri to track her down?”

Sari shook her head.

„And then?”

„Warn her maybe? I don’t know. In our current position, I wouldn’t do anything, too little information, but I don’t really want Shatter to get caught… and I want to know what game she is playing.”

„This guy out there” Sari pointed at Prowl’s image. Windblade was still talking to him, then the screen separated, showing some other mech in pink, black and golden paint, then one more – a black and white faceless with blue details on the chest. What they were talking – to Windblade, to each other – was now to complex to follow, „Had discouraged you from playing games.”

„Everyone already thinks this is what I’m doing. I might as well...”

„I’ll ask Ratri if she can track the signal” Sari agreed. „But nothing too complicated. I need to protect Ratri as well.”

„I know, Love, I know. Thank you.”

Miko kissed her on the cheek. Sari sighed, took out her tablet.

Their amount of mixed signals and frequencies was stunning. On this planet, they crossed everywhere: private communication channels and what Cybertronians called EM fields. Long-range communication. Public broadcasts. There were more of them than in a big city on Earth, obviously. To choose one of them was… hard.

„Ratri, There is a signal sent by a person named Shatter. Could you pick it up?”

„Searching,” Ratri answered in her ear. Again – the Ratri she knew, not an unknown alien person. „I have the transmission. It is… interesting.”

„I bet it is...” Miko muttered.

„Shatter was mentioned by Miko several times,” Ratri remarked. „For what I know Miko considers her a friend.”

„More or less,” Miko agreed. „Track the signal if you can. Don’t do anything else.”

Meanwhile, another face appeared on the screen. The mech was painted with bright reds and yellows, with a flame design swirling on his shoulders.

„Windblade, uuum Windlbade? I have a situation here.”

„What is Starscream up to now?” Windblade asked, sounding impatient and tired.

„The problem is, it is not Starscream, but listen, a friend of mine, a former crewmember, was on the square with his amicae, and he is a little… well… so he just went after the attackers.”

„Can’t his amicae stop him?”

„See, here is the problem. They both followed him and now they are reporting, that they found Whirl in rather… poor state. It seems that Whirl had found the terrorists, or they had found him. Anyway, they informed me and...”

„I see,” Windblade shook her head, then turned to the humans. The flame-painted mech looked over her shoulder from the screen, possibly the first one to notice the guests sitting on the table. He smiled widely. „I apologize for the situation. It is more complicated than I thought it would be. I will call someone to escort you to the dome.”

„Situation was just getting interesting,” Miko complained.

„But too complicated,” Sari reminded her. „It would be for the best if we really returned. Thank you for your hospitality and support, Windblade. And...” Sari looked at Miko, just in case Miko protested. „I think I should know, but the thing Prowl questioned us about was concerning Starscream. Neither of us has any idea, what it is exactly about and I’m not sure if giving you the details is a good idea, but you could as Starscream about the thing Acid Storm and Blackout transported for him.”

And now I am doing the thing Miko was warned not to do, she thought. But we are already involved and there might be no way out.

Windblade shook her head.

„This must wait.”

„Yes,” Sari agreed. „Of course it has to wait. Do what you need to do now. Before we go… We have one more question – and we are not sure whom should we ask. There is a medic who was friends with Optimus Prime. Do you know him?”

Windblade was silent for a moment.

„You mean Ratchet? It must be him, who else! I don’t know him well, but he has a clinic in this city.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, even more things happening in the background...


	12. Chapter 12

„At least we have the name of the medic and information, where we can find him,” Miko said. She sounded tired and displeased.

They had the suits and helmets back on and were able to talk privately again. Ratri was unable to locate Shatter’s signal. Too many other frequencies, she informed Sari. She was upset, and Sari expected there were many reasons for that.

A little more time, she promised to herself and to Ratri. A little more time and we will find help for you.

She felt tension, anxiety. There was too much happening at once, and despite the fact she and Miko didn’t have to deal with it directly, as Windblade did, those were the things that could influence them. Shatter’s action, for example. If she was caught, if she was questioned, if she said something that would put Miko in trouble…

Shatter doesn’t think she would put Miko in danger, Sari thought. Shatter, if Miko is right, doesn’t want to put Megatron in danger, but she doesn’t care about Miko. Why would she? I don’t care about Megatron, not really, not unless he causes another war. But Miko… Miko is my priority.

As Ratri is – added something in Sari’s mind.

As Ratri is.

„We are not going there today.”

But we should. We should solve the problem and leave and…

And.

„You are upset, Sari” She heard Ratri’s voice.

„We had left you alone again. And maybe you would like to see the planet.”

„Because it is my planet, Sari? This is not my planet. The planet that other person came from doesn’t exist anymore, I don’t think they would even be able to recognize it. No, Sari, this is not my planet, and the only person I recognize by far is Starscream and the feelings that other this person had about you are not the feelings I’d want to have about anyone. This place is as alien for me as it is for you and no, I don’t envy you the possibility of visiting it.”

I see Sari thought.

There was this bitterness again in Ratri’s voice and Ratri didn’t admit that. It was painful for Sari. Ratri was already slipping out of her hands.

Sari felt Miko leaning against her, heavy, tired. They were both tired and this entire visit was, by far, a little disappointing.

„We will go sleep as soon as we are back,” Sari promised, stroking Miko’s helmet instead of her head. Miko just nodded.

The mech, who served as their transport – they really didn’t have any memory for the name right now, but it was a nice person, although a little awkward around organics – left them at the entrance to the dome. Sari really planned to go to sleep, but as she returned from the shower, she found a local news channel turned on.

The screen was playing Shatter’s statement, again. There were commentaries, written in glyphs around and under the recording, but Miko didn’t turn any translation on. She just sat with her legs crossed and watched.

Sari sat behind her girlfriend, embraced her, and rested her chin on her shoulder.

„You can do nothing about it. Shatter is smart. She knows what she is doing. She won’t allow them to catch her. She has many reasons for this.”

„I know. But I… I want to know what is she planning.”

„This doesn’t concern us.”

„This concerns us enough, and you know it. If...”

„If she is caught, then we can do even less. At least we are away from Earth. If you are in danger, I will take you to the Foria colony and we will hide there. Stne-Ahre will understand.”

„Or the war breaks out again and nowhere is safe. We hear everywhere how horrible the last millions of years – millions, can you imagine this! - were for this part of the galaxy. This is longer than humanity, this is longer than we will ever live, this is… I don’t want it. What have I done, Sari?”

Sari waved her hand into Miko’s hair.

„You did what then was right. You trusted the right person. Please. Tomorrow we will go see this medic. You can ask him, I’m sure he will confirm. Yes?”

Miko nodded. Sari moved to sit between her and the screen. A statement from some member of the government – the same pink and black mech they saw on Windblade’s screen before – played behind them. Sari turned off the translation system in her ear. Don’t think about it, focus on the woman you love. She is fearless, but she is tired now. Tomorrow it will be better.

She kissed Miko, a long, slow, tender kiss.

„I am with you,” she said.

She could be with Miko, at least this she could do to silence her own fears, to silence the feeling of bitterness, regret, and guilt when it came to Ratri.

***

The building was colored in a way that stood out among the others around. This was recognizable to human eyes – as was the fact that the buildings here seemed to have seen better days. This was not the most representative part of the city, for sure, but also not the worst, as Swivel informed them.

„It was not the best place to live, in the other universe,” their guide explained. „Many outcasts, the police came here often, in search of criminals and dissidents. Now is not as bad, because the system changed, but still, there are many mecha around who...” Swivel shook their head. „You will see.”

They saw – at the entrance, several faceless and one flathead waited. Too many of them for anyone aware of what that meant to feel comfortable.

They are the victims of the old regime, Miko thought.

It felt weird for her knowing all that. How weird did it feel for a Cybertronian?

She remembered the slogan painted on the monument a day before and what Jae Park said: the mecha here, those who fought the regime, idolize Megatron.

This was complicated.

After she woke up, the first thing she did was to put an earpiece and ask Ratri to find any news regarding the terrorist attack. Was Shatter captured? Apparently not and, Miko was able to breathe with relief. According to the news, a mech, a „brave citizen” who followed the terrorists had been badly damaged in the fight, but his life was not in danger. His amicae endurae had found something important in the place where the mech followed the terrorists. The investigation continued.

Miko listened with interest, trying to put the pieces together. Some statements followed: from Windblade and from Starscream (who was speaking of the incident with humans… did Windblade allowed him that? Had he consulted those words with her?), from Prowl, form the pink-and-black government official apparently named Frontliner and from the mech with a flame design, who was named Rodimus (Miko recognized him. He was present on Megatron’s trial and defended Megatron then. She never had the opportunity to discuss this with anyone and now she regretted that a little.).

This was too complex, but it was all right. At least she knew something more now and was much, much calmer than the day before. Everything was going to be all right, she kept saying to herself.

The mecha, who waited at the line watched two creatures covered with suits as they approached the clinic building. Probably most of them were unaware of what they even see. The translation modules caught some words, some information about the doctor’s friend being wounded and in the clinic, and about someone’s surgery postponed. There were also comments and speculations about both weird visitors.

Surprisingly, the inside of the clinic had a… clinicy feel. It was mostly white with details in red, orange, and gray. There was a glowing purple crystal cluster in place, where in normal human clinic a plant would stand. There was a machine dispensing… something. Some chairs in three sizes – probably for large, medium-sized mecha, and minibots. There was also a reception and a receptionist was rather small and lightweight, with an elongated head.

„I’m sorry,” the mech at the reception said. „But at the moment we don’t make any appointments. Please visit our page to monitor the possibilities...” the mech looked down and their eyes went wide with surprise. „And you are?”

„Hi,” Miko said. „We are for obvious reasons, not potential patients. Nakadai Miko, Sari Sumdac. From Earth. Humans. Organics.”

The mech opened their mouth, wide. Their jaw literally dropped.

„What are you doing here? We have our hands full of work and...”

The mech didn’t finish, because something banged, very loudly, somewhere behind his back. Then there was a long litany of words what sounded like curses – the translation modules caught „scrap”, „slag”, „frag” and „glitch” and Miko thought that maybe it is an opportunity to learn some creative swearing in Cybertronian.

„What is happening?” she asked.

„We have a… complicated patient. He was wounded yesterday and he is… well, at least he is in good enough shape to swear...” the bot smirked. „How can I help you?”

„We are looking for Ratchet.”

The bot cocked their head, a little surprised.

„Most mecha who came here do,” they said. „But you are not mecha.”

„We need to talk to him,” Miko said. „Tell him, that I’m Miko Nakadai and I met his friend who… I met Orion. And that I met someone who had his back removed. This should work, I hope?”

„I will tell him, but I don’t know if you are aware that Ratchet is not here right now.”

„What do you mean by not here right now?” Sari asked.

„Ratchet was called to one of the new colonies. It seems some kind of a new disease appeared there and his expertise is needed. He and his conjunx went there.”

Sari let out a disappointed sigh.

„Any idea when they will be back?”

„Oh, I would love to know…” the receptionist said. Deep in the building, some other thing crashed. „This glitch there demanded Ratchet to patch him up. Because he trusts Ratchet and not the government-appointed doctors…” the mech sighed. „I understand him, really. But having Ratchet personally treating anyone is impossible right now, as you can see, so Chema must deal with him. I don’t envy her, not at all… I hope I helped?”

Miko nodded.

„As much, as you could. Thank you very much,” she said.

„Fuck” she added, as they left the clinic. The mecha gathered outside were looking at them with no less interest, although they said nothing – again.

Sari let out a heavy sight.

„I hoped at least this will work,” she admitted.

„We had no idea. Well, we are not waiting here for Ratchet to come back. I would go crazy, you would go crazy and leaving Ratri in the spaceport for so long… she would go crazy as well. Not to mention the fact, that this short trip to help with a disease can take, let’s say, fifty years.”

„Ratri, do you have this colony that was mentioned in your database?” Sari asked the ship.

„I do. What are we looking for there, because it seems it had some activity in the past...”

„A Cybertronian colony and a medic that we hope will help you.”

„We are going there,” Miko said.

„Do you have a better plan?”

Miko shook her head.

„No idea. If I could think of anyone else who could help… I mean...” she shook her head. „There must be someone. Only I have no idea. And we need to leave this planet anyway.”

***

The news of the terrorist attack and investigation continued when they were leaving the planet. There was something found in the old magazine. There were rumors that Starscream was in league with terrorists and the entire situation with him „saving” the human visitors was a planned cover-up. The humans were unable to comment. The Earth ambassador Jae Park said he knows nothing.

„Lieutenant Nakadai and ms Sumdac left the planet,” he said in an interview for local news. „We talked before and they said they were treated well by both senator Starscream,” Sari noticed that Park had problems with pronouncing Starscream’s name neutrally. „and Windblade. They have no knowledge of the causes of the attack. This is everything I can inform you about.”

Sari shook her head.

„Mess,” she stated, leaning against the wall of the bridge.

A clawed tentacle approached to stroke her hair, gently.

„Mess,” Ratri agreed.

„I’m sorry, I promised you help...”

„You are doing your best,” Ratri assured. „We had no idea, that Ratchet was not on the planet. We didn’t even know his name then.”

„Can we… talk about your reaction to Starscream?” Sari asked.

She didn’t want to deal with the situation, not right now and actually not ever, but this was a necessity.

„I know no more than I already told you. I am not sure, but I think that he… betrayed me… that other person. I feel I little as if it happened to me.”

„It didn’t happen to you. You weren’t there,” Sari answered, feeling that her voice had gotten weaker. „That was someone else.”

„Yes. But I still feel it. And I’m confused. I… I’m having dreams, Sari. Can I share them with you? Could we synchronize?”

There was hope in Ratri’s voice and Sari nodded.

„I was afraid to ask.”

„You can always ask.”

„I know… but this is you. The other one… the other one is...”

But that was not the dead mech, but only the elements of their memory inside Ratri. And Ratri wanted this and…

And there were many reasons Sari should not do it – she still remembered how she felt last time. But she longed for that feeling, for the closeness, for the warmth inside her body, for experience that was alien to her but translated into feelings and sensations understandable for her.

We are not going to go this way, she thought, pulling the cable out. I just need information and we might need it.

There were shapes inside the dream. Silhouettes: Sari knew this shape, this kind of a Cybertronian frame, with wings on the back and something Sari was not able to name on the shoulders, the cockpit, and turbines on the chest. Blackout was like this, Acid Storm too. Starscream as Sari met him had an entirely different frame type, but here, in this dream, in the past, in the memory, he looked like this also. And he was standing over Sari, over Ratri, over the dead/not-yet-dead mech. And it was him, maybe Sari would not recognize him right away, but it was him, his red, blue and white colors and the red eyes narrowed dangerously and his shrill voice echoing everywhere: in Sari’s ears, in Sari’s mind, in the dreamscape inside Ratri.

As good as dead, Sari heard.

Starscream’s armor was not the shiny one she knew from their meeting. It was stained – with mud, with flecks of rust, with glowing pink fluid splattered everywhere. The fluid was dripping down his arm and Sari had no idea if it’s his „blood”, or somebody else’s.

Is it mine? She felt herself asking.

It was Ratri asking. It was, possibly, this third person asking, the one from whose perspective Sari and Ratri were watching and Sari felt and Ratri felt pain and anger and they were unable to move and unable to protest.

And Sari expected Starscream to do something more, to use one of the guns attached to his arms, maybe, but he did nothing. He just threw her, them, the one last glance and went away, leaving them unable to move, unable to protest, angry, angry, angry.

He should not leave them like this, they still functioned, they were able to fight, only… only…

But they were unable to move, despite what they wanted, what they hoped. Too many fuel lines broken, pain in the chest – was their spark chamber hit? There was also this hole in the head, wiring sticking out, electricity cracking dangerously, the world around going darker and darker.

There should be someone… someone should help. The commander was a traitorous glitch, but he should take care of his mecha, as he always claimed was a priority. And there were the others, the two that was closest to them, where were they now? Nowhere to be seen and the image was fading, fading, fading, and then there was no more pain for a long, long time.

I’m sorry, I'm sorry, Sari found herself speaking/thinking. The anger, the pain the overcoming feeling of being betrayed, was everywhere.

We should never come to this wretched planet, she heard, she felt. The voice from before, the voice that said Starscream cannot be trusted.

This is the most horrible place and was not worth our efforts but some glitched piece of scrap decided it is an important strategic point to defend and we got stuck there. And here I am.

Was the being aware of Sari’s presence? Were they aware of Ratri’s presence? Was Ratri even there?

Sari hoped she was there. To be stuck on a ship haunted by the ghost of a dead Decepticon was a horrible idea.

Hello? Hello? Are you there.

Human, squishie, I know you, why do I know you?

Ratri knows me, Sari answered, feeling… no, fear was not the good word for what she felt. Where is Ratri?

I don’t know who Ratri is. But you… you cut me! You entered my mind!

It was not me. I mean, once. Once I did violate you but this was not…

Run. Run away. But where? There was nowhere to run because they were on the spaceship and this creature was this spaceship.

They betrayed me. My commander left me to die. My trine left me to die. The humans came. Took me apart.

I know. I’m sorry. I’m just sorry…

Sari let out a sound, a scream, of fear, of pain, although her body was still intact – but she was feeling still the pain enclosed inside the half-dead spark that was part of Ratri. She felt it as she felt the anger surrounding and swallowing her.

You. You cut me into pieces. You hurt me. You will die human, you will die screaming as I died screaming.

She felt something, someone, grabbing her and dragging her. Human hands, mechanical hands? She had no idea for a moment, panicked, scared.

„Sari!” she heard Miko calling her. „Sari! Go out of it!”

„He wants to kill us, he wants to kill us!” she found herself screaming, she found herself unplugging.

She expected the lights turned off and the metal tentacles reaching out for both of them, to kill them, no way out, in space no one can hear your screams, as someone said in an old movie.

There was only Miko above her, concerned, holding her arms.

„Sari. Sari, what’s going on.”

„He wants to kill us!”

„Human,” the voice was now in the speakers. „Human, you can’t run away. I will find you. I will kill you.”

„Oh fuck,” Miko said, her eyes opened wide. „Oh fuck. Spacesuits, now!”

The armor clicked and enveloped her and Sari had no other choice but to listen and run towards the place where the suits were kept.

„Ratri!” she shouted again. „Ratri! Please answer me!”

She saw the tentacles, both of them, much longer than the first time she saw it, leaving their compartment hidden in the ceiling and going towards them, the claws sharp and strong enough to pierce a mech’s armor, not to speak of human flesh. The suit would be flimsy for them.

But not the armor, and Miko was prepared.

„I really don’t want to tear this ship piece by piece,” she said.

„You already did tear me apart!” the dead Decepticon said.

„Not me, and not her, you ungrateful idiot! We want to help you, come on, you know it!”

„He doesn’t know it! Ratri knows it! Ratri, please!” Sari begged.

It was Ratri who asked Sari to link, to see into her dreams, Ratri who wanted it, who needed the closeness, who needed to synchronize!

„Ratri! Please! You wanted to synchronize!”

The dead mech laughed.

„You cannot synchronize, human! You are now...” the voice suddenly faltered. „You are not… are… not… are...”

The tentacles twitched, the claws opened.

„Sari,” the voice said, not exactly Ratri’s voice, but not exactly the dead mech’s voice either. „Sari, you are… you are my...”

The lights blinked, the voice faded, the tentacles let go and returned to the compartment.

„Sari,” this time it was Ratri’s voice again and it was scared. „Miko. Have I...”

„No,” Sari said, relieved, but with anxiety still stirring deep inside her. „It was not you, dear. It was not you. And we are safe.”

„For now,” Miko muttered.

„I remember… this just happened… We were there and then… then there was rage and I wanted to kill… Sari… I could never kill you!”

Sari dropped the suit she had been putting on already. She reached out to touch the wall.

„I know. But he wanted too. And he had a good reason as well.”

„I felt it. I’m scared. I… Oh, Sari, for a moment I was him and I didn’t like it. But he was in pain, and he was scared and alone. They had left him.”

„What had actually happened?” Miko asked, letting the armor return to the inert form.

„We linked,” Ratri said. „I wanted to show Sari what I… The dream. The memory.”

„It was his death,” Sari added. She noticed her hands were still shivering and she remembered the feelings that for a moment translated into a form her brain could accept. Or they were just universal, the basic pain, the basic fear, the basic anger… „And I… I called him. And he answered.”

„He is more aware of what is happening than I thought,” Ratri said. „I am sorry. I stopped. He stopped. I am confused. I...”

„No more linking you two,” Miko requested. „This could end badly.”

„I am aware, Miko, and I feel an urge to apologize,” Ratri said. „But at the same time, I am aware, that my apology won’t help here. I am afraid, that this would end with all of us dead. One of my purposes was to protect you, and I’m failing in this task.”

„But now you know, that the problem exists,” Sari protested. “You are able to fight it! And we… we are on our way to find a solution for you, yes?”

She was aware, that her voice was weak, even weaker than Ratri’s. She was afraid. This thing inside Ratri…

Oh, no matter how much Sari was telling to herself, that this thing is a person and has the right to live, she couldn’t stop herself from being afraid. And she couldn’t stop Ratri from being afraid, especially after what had just happened. Linking would help, but Miko was right: it was not a good idea, not now, not after all those times when it caused problems and allowed dark emotions to surface.

***

Sari seemed worried after what happened and Miko understood, but at the same time, she had an awful suspicion, that she isn’t told everything.

What was happening between Sari and Ratri (and the dead Decepticon), was worrying and Miko had no access to it other, than just asking. So asking was what she decided to do when Sari was occupied in the other part of the ship.

„Hey, Ratri?”

„Yes, Miko?”

„What do you actually think of this? Of what happened to you? To this person that you once was?”

Ratri was silent for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was confused.

„I don’t know if I can say I „was” that person. I am myself and he is like something alien to me. But I have his memories and I felt his anger and his pain. And it happens more and more often. I know some things he knew. I know he was something that is called a „Seeker”. I know Starscream was his commander and that he had what was called a „trine”. They left him to die. Starscream decided it.”

Miko leaned against the chair, a normal chair this time, thank goodness. There were enough creepy things around.

„Well, so everything we need to do now is to return to Cybertron, return to Starscream and ask him politely for the list of his Seekers whom he left to die. Great. Let’s do this.”

Ratri didn’t catch the irony.

„Really?” she asked.

„Naah,” Miko shook her head. „No way. We will be dead with you. But, the question is: do you want to know what happened there? Who this Seeker was? Who was his trine?”

She had no idea, what a trine might be, but the way Ratri spoke of it indicated something important. An equivalent of a family, maybe?

„I don’t know,” Ratri admitted. „Sari… Sari seems to be scared. I understand. I scared her. He scared her.”

Miko shook her head. Ratri was worried, but the way she expressed it made Miko both worried and annoyed in return.

„You want to do whatever Sari wants,” Miko said. This wasn’t going to sound so harsh and bitter, but it did.

The other person, this dead seeker, had their own will, their own personality, that wasn’t based on pleasing anyone (at least Miko imagined them as such). Ratri was still terribly obedient and compliant.

„You don’t like it,” Ratri’s voice was sad.

„We discussed it...” Miko sighed „It is pointless. Those are my own issues. Look, I like you, whoever you are, well, I guess that I like you even as a murderous undead Decepticon. I’m weird.”

„Miko, I don’t know if it is clear or not… I will do anything for you as well.”

„I guess you would. And I don’t like it either. Some part of me prefers murderous undead Decepticon. It is because he always was his own person, you know? He never was...”

A thing, she thought but did not say that. This was horrible, because Ratri was not a thing, not anymore… maybe she had never been a thing.

„You are aware that it is not a good idea for me to become this person. It would destroy me,” Ratri’s voice was now full of sadness. „And then he would kill you. No. I cannot allow him to do this. And you want to survive. You want to be alive. I want you to be alive. And I want to be alive as well… But he wanted to live when he was left to die out there and I cannot disregard it is making me sad, angry, and upset. Miko, this is my own anger. I think so? I don’t know. I’m not even sure, which feelings are mine and which are his.”

Miko shook her head again.

No way out of this situation apparently. No good solution, that would save everyone.

„I don’t even know what we should do,” she admitted.

„Me neither… there is a thing I could try to do, but it is not a solution. It will only slow the things down.”

„And this is?” Miko asked.

„I have the possibility to revise my own programming. To cut the lines and files that I don’t want, that are dangerous and unnecessary. I could, in theory, do it with the lines that came from him, but, Miko, two things would happen: first, I would have to forget about what I learned about. Second, I would probably cut only the files that were created on my hard drive. Whatever is there, coded in the parts that came from here – the spark and possibly other elements – this will remain there. My creators weren’t able to do it and neither am I. It would reemerge again, maybe even angrier. Everything will just start over again. And he had been hurt enough. I don’t think I want to hurt him even more.”

„I see,” Miko said. „Don’t do it. This is not a solution.”

But, damn, we need to find a proper solution quickly enough, before the thing that is our spaceship kills us all.

I am going to kill Isaac Sumdac, his associates, and all the idiots, who believed it would be a wonderful idea to create a spaceship out of the remains of a dead Cybertronian, who apparently was not dead enough. I will kill any of them, who did not their research, who did not think, who apparently believed a spark is just an energy source powering the emotional circuits. Who spoke of sentient AIs, but disregarded sentience of another species. They don’t deserve to live. Our race was probably not worth all the fuss and saving, since we do such things to the others, and we did it to ourselves in the past.

It was not only fucking colonel Bishop, but it was also every single one of them, every single human being in existence.

Miko let out an angry scream, punched the wall. It hurt when Miko raised her hand, she noticed bloody bruises on her knuckles. She fell on the floor, letting out a sob.

„Miko,” Ratri’s voice was now soft, calm, sweet. „I am sorry to upset you.”

„It’s not you. It’s all the people who did it to you. You didn’t deserve that.”

„Me… or him?”

„Both of you.”

And I don’t know, Miko thought, with which one am I speaking. And I don’t even know if I should wish Ratri never existed, but damn, I care about her.

***

They took the course on the system with the colony. It wasn’t close, which didn’t make it easier, as they had to deal with the „murderous undead Decepticon” as Miko dubbed the unknown seeker. It was probably not the most sensible description, but thinking of him this way was a little easier. It made it easier to lie to herself, to feel a little less pity over the poor being.

He was not poor, she reminded herself. He was exactly this: a murderous Decepticon. He came to kill humans and probably killed some of them.

So what, Miko’s memories seemed to laugh at her. So did Frenzy and you saved him. Shatter is a terrorist and you keep thinking of her as of a friend. And do I need to start on Megatron, because I might reach some conclusions I really would prefer not to have?

You helped Megatron, Miko. You want to help this mech now.

I wanted to kill Megatron. I would if this wasn’t a plot inside a plot. And when I pushed the trigger, when the device came off – I felt relieved not only because I believed I fulfilled my mission and killed a villain – but also because I knew he was suffering.

This seeker is also suffering. And even more. And he is half-dead already.

But he is more alive than before he ate this minibot. So maybe it is a possibility to save him.

And then what?

They felt the tension and this was going to be a long journey. Sari spoke little. Sometimes Miko saw her sitting in the bridge, on the floor, cable in her hand. She wanted to link and Ratri apparently wanted it too, and this scared Miko deeply. Something else must have happened at one point, something Sari omitted – this was absurd, but Miko felt little jabs of jealousy. There was something Sari and Ratri shared, something, she was excluded from.

But it had been Sari who was afraid of losing Miko, wasn’t she? On the Foria colony, when she had this breakdown, when Miko backed away – and now they were doing the same thing again, Sari remaining with Ratri, Miko distancing herself, watching her girlfriend suffering, doing nothing.

This is temporary, she kept saying to herself.

This was a bad idea, she was thinking as well. We were stupid, we didn’t plan it good enough, and we are stuck, with our relationship issues and with the fucking murderous undead Decepticon, that is our ship.

We are not going to get alive out of this. We are searching for the Cybertronian medic, who we hoped should help us, but we really don’t know if he is able to.

Ratri was silent as well, closed in her pain, in the memories. She was communicating that she was still herself, Ratri, on a regular basis, but not much more than that.

It was hard for her as well.

Miko really wanted to know how to solve it. But instead of finding a solution, she was spending most of her time with headphones over her ears. Well, she was also the one to prepare the meals and checking the sanitary systems, and cleaning up, and doing most of the maintenance, despite the last part was something Sari usually was taking care of. Miko just needed to do something, to be in motion. Sitting and waiting was never something she was good at.

She was also searching for opportunities to go out, to the hull. She started to feel trapped – not because of the murderous undead Decepticon, but simply because of prolonged time inside. Performing checkups on the outside of the ship were some kind of a way out – and the endless space around was soothing in a way.

The day when the tragedy finally happened Miko was sitting outside. There was a minor repair needed to the communication systems. The ship went out of hyperspace and Miko could, after doing her work, sit there and watch a glorious nebula glistering with shades of purple and gold. Something untouched by the destructive hands of sentient beings, both organic and mechanical. Primordial beauty.

When she slipped back inside the ship, she heard Sari’s voice in the distance. Sari was upset. She was talking to Ratri, obviously, and Ratri sounded calm – a good sign, it was still her and not the murderous undead Decepticon – but at the same time, there was something in her voice…

Sari and Ratri were arguing. This was entirely new and didn’t fit what Miko thought of Ratri as sweet and compliant. Not so long ago Miko would be happy at this development – but now it was not sounding good.

But, this was still Ratri, right?

Miko took the suit off, put it into the closet, and went towards the arguing voices.

„It is not a good idea. You will be putting us all in danger.” she heard Sari saying. „No.”

„I will control it, Sari. And I know I won’t hurt you. I have you coded as important. I will not do you any harm.”

„This is you. This is not him. He wants us dead.”

„He” there was something sharp and unpleasant in Ratri’s voice. „What do you mean by „he”?”

„The Seeker, Ratri. Murderous undead Decepticon”

„I don’t like you speak of me this way,” Ratri said. Or was it still Ratri?

„Fuck,” Miko muttered.

She didn’t like it at all.

„This is not you Ratri.”

„Then who I am, Sari?” Ratri – or not-Ratri – demanded.

„You are… You were built for me. I named you. I linked with you. I synchronized with you. I fell in love with you.”

Miko froze, pressed against the wall, her heart beating fast.

Why was it so obvious? Why did it hurt so much?

„I know, Sari. But things changed and you know this.”

„Yes. Yes, I know… but I want...” Sari’s voice was now weak, close to breaking down. „I don’t want it to change!” she shouted. „I want my Ratri back!”

There was anger, sadness, and desperation in Sari’s voice.

Why did it hurt so much? Miko bit her teeth, hard.

Ratri was silent for a longer while.

„Are you sure, Sari?” she asked, and Miko felt that something was bad, very bad.

„Yes,” Sari answered.

„All right,” Ratri agreed. „Preparing the emotional systems for revision and format,” she added with her unemotional, artificial voice.

Sari… Sari just stood there and Miko saw the lists of files, that were being prepared for revision and deletion.

They had talked about it. Ratri promised not to do this.

„No!” Miko screamed, rushing towards the console, towards Sari.

At this moment she was not thinking about what pushed her – was it jealousy or the sympathy for the dead Seeker, or the need for Ratri to be autonomous. At that moment she just acted.

Sari heard her, turned towards her, her face surprised.

„No, no, no!” Miko shouted, running towards her.

She wanted to push her away from the console and stop the file revision manually because at this moment Ratri wouldn’t stop it, would she?

So she pushed Sari. She felt Sari’s shoulders under her palms, and she saw Sari losing balance and falling, falling back and for a brief moment Miko had no idea what was happening, there was this surprised expression on Sari’s face and then Sari’s hand tried to grab Miko’s arm and Miko tried to grab Sari as well, but it all was too quick.

Miko saw Sari’s head hitting the console and then Sari fell to the ground.

There was blood on the console and blood on the floor, around Sari’s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, description of a serious injury in the next chapter. Feel warned.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not very graphic (but researched) description of serious head injury and medical procedure in this chapter.

Miko screamed.

She had seen many things already, some of them quite horrible. She had done things that were questionable at best. She had killed… well, she helped to kill a sentient being. And tried to kill another.

But nothing of what happened before prepared her for this.

Sari leid on the floor, her eyes closed, her arms threw apart, the blood pool around her head growing larger and larger, blood dripping from the console, where Sari hit it.

Miko was aware, that even the small injuries to the head can cause heavy bleeding. But seeing her girlfriend unconscious and knowing, that it was she who caused this.

Calm down. You won’t help her by screaming. This is not how you were trained.

You will think later. You will blame yourself later. Now do whatever you can.

„Ratri!” Miko shouted. „Cancel the revision!”

„File revision aborted,” declared Ratri’s emotionless voice. „Miko… Miko, what happened?”

„She hit herself!”

I pushed her. I did it.

„You know the medical emergency procedures.”

„Yes. Fuck.”

It was not that they left earth without being prepared for the situations one of them – or even both – would be seriously hurt. Noone of them had real medical knowledge, but they both had some training at first aid and Ratri’s database had many pieces of information that should be helpful. And there were kits and some tools…

„It will be all right,” Miko said, picking Sari up. Sari’s hair was slippery with blood, there was bleeding from her nose and ear and Miko feared to touch the place where her head hit the console.

She remembered one accident that happened during her training, this guy who hit his head, and while the skull remained intact, the damage to the brain was too severe – and it even didn’t show at first. The guy suffered from loss of coordination and was discharged soon after it turned out he needed rehabilitation. What happened to him after, Miko had no idea.

No, no need to think about that right now.

The area prepared for medical interventions was new and shiny, unused, but also both women didn’t pay any attention to it previously, except for one supply closet.

And now it was because Miko’s own stupidity, that Sari was lying here, unconscious.

„Ratri, medical scan...” Miko started

„I’ve already activated medical scanner,” Ratri said in her polite, overly calm voice.

Wasn’t she also stressed? She needed to be – but she might also be able to dissociate her emotions in a far more effective way than a human being would ever be.

A device moved over the unconscious woman, additional artificial eyes designed to see all the possible medical problems, an additional complex program, that was not part of Ratri’s cognitive and emotional part but was controlled by her.

The screens lit, filled with images and descriptions. Miko bit her lip, hard, until she felt blood in her mouth.

„A mild fracture to the temporal bone,” Ratri was informing. She didn’t have to: Miko had seen the results of the scans already. „Intracranial bleeding from the middle meningeal artery. The severity of the damage to the nerves unknown for now.”

Miko wanted to howl.

When Verity Carlo told her „you are going to die”, Miko hadn’t take it too seriously… And she didn’t think, that it could mean „you will get your girlfriend killed”.

And definitely, neither of them thought of something like this happening.

Sari moved, her eyes opened. She looked at Miko, hazy and disoriented.

„What happened? My head… hurts...”

Miko grabbed her head immediately. Sari looked at the blood on her fingers.

„What…?”

She tried to sit up, lost balance again and Miko needed to catch her so that she didn’t fell from the bed.

„Easy, love, easy. You hit your head and...”

„How?”

Sari looked as if she was not aware of what happened. She looked around hazed and surprised, then she retched and vomited on the floor and on Miko’s legs.

„Stay down, love, please,” Miko said. „You… it was an accident and I...” she felt as if something was crushing her from the inside. „I pushed you. You fell.”

„I don’t remember this… I… I feel dizzy.”

„Lay down, please. Your head is damaged.”

Sari nodded, but then instead of simply lying down, she slumped to the bed, unconscious again.

„Fuck,” Miko cursed. „Ratri we need...”

„Miko, I’m afraid that there is possibly a hemorrhage forming under Sari’s skull” Ratri informed. „I don’t have the equipment and the possibility to perform the surgery. If Sari doesn’t get proper treatment as soon as possible, her brain can be damaged. She can also…”

„Die. I know, Ratri, I am fucking aware!” Miko shouted, then bowed down, resting her hands on the bed next to her unconscious girlfriend. „All right. We need a humanoid medic now. The Forian colony is...”

„Not very close to us and you know it.”

„Then what is the closest?”

It can be even the damned Citrix station right now, she thought. Everything. Anyone, who could save Sari.

„The closest place is the Nebulan research station. On full speed, we should reach it in about two hours. According to my database, the Nebulans are a humanoid race and part of the Galactic Council.”

„Good. Full speed and take the course at the station.”

Because, what other choice did she really had?

***

Those were two longest hours in Miko’s life. She cleaned up the floor, the bed, Sari’s face, and head, then she needed to perform intubation and despite calms instructions from Ratri, this was the worst part of the process, because something inside Miko’s head was convinced that the tube pushed inside Sari’s throat will only cause farther damage. Then she sat beside still unconscious Sari, watching the information from the medical scans. This didn’t help. This was only causing waves and waves of guilt.

„I am so stupid,” Miko said.

She said this more to herself than to anyone else, but she was not alone. There was still Ratri with her – and the murderous undead Decepticon.

But it was, fortunately, Ratri who answered.

„It was an accident.”

„I could do it the other way. Fuck. I felt… when she told you...”

„That she is in love with me?”

Miko shook her head.

„It… it is a little weird, you know, but…” she smiled sadly „This is no very surprising. But no. This was not why I did it… well, not entirely at least.”

„I’m sorry, Miko. I am to blame as much as you are. More even. We discussed the file revision, but I didn’t discuss it with Sari and I did exactly the opposite of what I’ve told you I will do. I acted on my emotions and I caused the accident. Miko, when Sari told me she loved me and that she wants „her Ratri” back, I was afraid. Because of this other person, this Seeker… I feel his presence, his emotions, more and more. And it is not him, whom Sari loves. I wanted to be exactly the person she wants me to be.”

Miko whined, pressed her forehead to the bed, next to Sari’s hand.

„We blew it,” she said.

„You didn’t know.”

„But we could do it any other way, and I could do anything else but push her.”

„Miko. We are approaching the station. Please focus on the contact with the Nebulans.”

Miko nodded, cleaned her face, and brushed hair, just a little, to look presentable.

She really didn’t know anything about Nebulans, except what Ratri said when she found the station in the database. They were humanoids and they were roughly human-sized, which was good. They were part of the Council – this was also good in this case. If necessary, Miko could use her story from the Citrix station. This was where she supposedly head heard the name of the race because it was not entirely unfamiliar to her, but besides those basic fact, she had no idea.

Ratri’s maps were updated on the Foria colony first and then on Cybertron, which meant the station should be there and should be operational. Not many details besides that, sadly.

Ratri opened communication channels.

„Hello, I am Nakadai Miko of Earth,” Miko started. „My partner is seriously wounded and we are looking for help. Is there a possibility stopped at your station?”

There was a long moment of silence, and Miko got scared. Maybe they didn’t want to talk, maybe the communication and translation modules broke, maybe something happened to the station and its crew?

Then Miko heard some static and then a voice speaking.

„Earth? Isn’t Earth allied with the Council?”

„It is,” Miko said. Oh, please, let it help! „Please. You were the closest...”

„I’ve seen a human once,” the voice said. „You say your partner is wounded…?”

„Yes.”

„Oh! This could be interesting! Come in!”

There was lots of enthusiasm in this voice and Miko was not entirely sure, how to understand it.

A research station. Scientists. Not every scientist in the Galaxy understood ethics the same way, and Ratri was an example of what a scientist could do to another species.

But Nebulans were humanoids, right?

And if a human medic would have the opportunity to learn something about an alien species by helping a Nebulan, or a Forian, or any other humanoid – or non-humanoid organic – they would be as enthusiastic as the person on the other side.

Also, the voice Miko heard was a little familiar.

„I don’t really have a choice,” Miko decided, but she took the armor with her, just in case.

Ratri docked, the airlocks hissed. There was a breathable air onboard the station.

The station was smaller than the supply station they first met Blackout and Acid Storm on, build for human-sized beings. There were two shuttles in the bay when Miko left Ratri.

She looked around. No one? No welcoming committee? That didn’t look good.

Then, she heard someone’s footsteps. Someone was approaching, one person, running, fast.

Miko saw a person with yellow skin, pointed ears, and short white hair. They had white eyes, that looked at Miko with interest.

And they looked… they looked familiar.

Miko stepped closer. So did the Nebulan.

They wore a gray suit with a pair of gloves. Miko remembered them wearing the Peacekeeping Forces uniform.

„Veiora?”

The Nebulan blinked.

„Sorry, had we met before?”

„You are Veiora, right?”

„Yes, yes, that’s me!” the Nebulan exclaimed. „We had met, right?”

„You were a crewmember on Steadfast Progress. I am Nakadai Miko, former lieutenant of the Earth United Forces. I was a hostage on _Echo_.”

Veiora’s eyes opened wide.

„Oooh! That was you! Sorry, you humans… I assumed you all looked the same.”

Miko snickered

„And that we are named the same, I guess?”

Veiora shrugged.

„Could be,” they said. „The Zathras have only one name they all use, I have no idea how they tell each other apart, but I suspect there is some temporal paradox involved. They are all named Zathras anyway. You were the one who went to the structure with the captain.”

„Yes. There was no other human.”

Veiora nodded.

„Of course. But I guess you need urgent help for your traveling companion?”

„My partner. Yes.”

Veiora shrugged.

„Well, then I hope we can help.”

„I have a database on my ship that should help. I don’t have tools or skills. Weren’t you astrophysicist?”

„Oh, yes, this is my main scope, but knowledge is knowledge, you know,” Veiora grinned. „I have a medic here, of course. And equipment. Hi, Tavlre, the humans have arrived, it seems I had met one of them before, listen, the other one needs medical attention, so we are going to help.”

Miko felt sudden relief.

Veiora didn’t start with asking questions others than was necessary. They followed Miko into Ratri, looked at the screens monitoring Sari’s state with fascination.

„Not very different,” she stated. „Well, my mentor used to say, that if we ever find a new species studying it is a procedure, even if we have to dissect it on spot… but I guess not dissecting today?” they grinned again, but Miko didn’t like the joke.

It was terribly insensible for Veiora to joke in this way, especially considering, how Thser-Nah died. But Miko said nothing. Not yet.

„And,” Veiora continued. „You are offering us a complete database on your medicine? This is much better than dissecting. Well, where I can plug in to download it?”

„The output is on the panel on the left,” Ratri said. This was the first time she even talked to Veiora. Miko heard something unpleasant in Ratri’s voice.

„Oh, an AI! Good thing, when you are traveling alone! Hello AI, I am Veiora Tassai.”

Ratri didn’t answer. Veiora wasn’t bothered by it. They just plugged in to download the data. Miko really hoped Ratri put a firewall on anything else. If Veiora could have been trusted on Ratri’s true nature was debatable.

Meanwhile, the Nebulan medic came. They were a lithe person with their green hair braided around their head. They were as fascinated as Veiora was, but at least they didn’t tell questionable jokes. And they said nothing about the circumstances of Miko’s previous meeting with Veiora, which was also good. Right now they were concentrated on their patient.

„A hemorrhage, you say? Well, the procedure shouldn’t be very complicated unless your species has some unexpected differences... And you were lucky to be so close.”

„We will be grateful,” Miko stated.

„Oh, this is something we can discuss later,” Veiora said. „And many, many other things.

Miko shivered. This didn’t sound good.

Sari. Sari was a priority right now. If there was a Council’s agent here searching for what had really happened in the Citrix system and if they gave Miko a choice – hiding the truth or saving Sari’s life, Miko would choose Sari. She would always choose Sari.

Tavlre wanted Miko out of the surgery area – Miko protested. She needed to bee with Sari, just to be sure if everything goes as planned.

„Oh, just let them,” Veiora waved her hand. „Them? It? Her? Him?”

Miko smiled, remembering how Veiora asked Soundwave how should she talk to him.

„Her. Sari is also a she. We are… very binary as a species, unfortunately.”

„Binary is overrated,” Veiora agreed. „But my species has the same problem, really. Socially, I’m a she. Come on. I see...” she looked at the tablet where she downloaded the data on human biology. „Oh. The alta could be a good equivalent of coffee. Is coffee the social drink for you?”

„Can be,” Miko agreed.

Veiora put her hand on Miko’s shoulder.

„Good, because you seem like you needed some social drink and also some rest. We can watch the surgery from here.”

There was a room separated with the glass window from the medbay. There was something resembling a coffee machine standing there and Veiora took two cups. Miko was far more focused on Tavlre and his assistant putting Sari on the bed and preparing the equipment.

„I am amazed how our species are similar, really,” Veiora was talking. „I have this concept that several species in the Galaxy were predesigned by some progenitor race… This would explain the parallels between your race, the Nebulans and Elonians, and… Here, your alta.”

She gave Miko a cup. What was inside smelled a little like a mixture of chocolate, coffe, and something sharp and herbal?

„I really hope the Watcher’s race isn’t this „progenitor race”,” Miko muttered.

„They have a name, actually and I had found it...” Veiora said but didn’t bother to share the name. „And why?”

„Because… you know why.”

Veiora shrugged.

„Well, what would be the difference? If they created us or if they did not – they would claim they did anyway. I don’t really care. I don’t believe in any god or gods and really, knowing the real origin of my people doesn’t destroy any belief I’m holding. The only thing I believe in is science.”

„Hey, Veiora?” Tavlre’s voice sounded in the speakers. „She has an implant.”

Veiora’s eyes shone with excitement.

„Really? Can I get the specs?”

Miko gritted her teeth.

„This is my partner you are talking about. Let your people save her and then you can ask her.”

„Oh, of course… sorry. We were working for Zarak Consortium before, you know, Croz’ik and me,” she said as if this was going to explain something. Well, it did, a little, since Croz’ik was the technoorganic assistant who died on Echo. „I’m interested in how implants work in other species.”

„You will discuss this with Sari when she wakes up.”

„The more reasons to be happy that we took you!” Veiora exclaimed and sipped her alta.

Miko took a sip as well. The drink was warm and sweet and had enough coffee and chocolate taste to it to be soothing.

„Well, what are you doing here?” Veiora asked. „I mean, right now you are drinking alta and your partner is having surgery, but.”

Miko told her the name of the system.

„Why? I mean there is a newly established Cybertronian colony there, oh, and also some old mining facility in an asteroid belt, I believe it’s abandoned now?... but why?” Veiora’s eyes had gotten wide. „Does it have something to do with your friends from Echo?” she asked.

„I was their hostage,” Miko muttered.

Veiora’s mouth twitched in a smile.

„Naaah, you were friends. I’m not as socially awkward as some think I am. And I am really not stupid. There was some bigger mess going on there.”

Miko froze.

Veiora laughed.

„Hey, relax. I’m not digging. This is not my problem, really and I don’t care. Captain was so very mad after that, you know. He demanded an investigation, but the Council just cut it. Political mess. I left the peacekeeping forces afterward and homeworld was far to happy to give me a post here,” She grinned. „I mean, come on, the entire thing in Kaschig’s field! I guess you got some interesting things from your people as well. I mean, you were in the middle of the political mess,” Veiora winked.

„I’m not talking about it.”

„Of course. As I said: I don’t care for the political mess. I’m happy to be away from it. Well, not exactly, since it gave me things to study.”

Miko stopped to listen, now concentrated on what was happening in the surgery. It was disturbing and in a way horrible, but she couldn’t look away from the side of Sari’s head where the alien medic had removed the hair and from the device drilling a hole inside the skull

This was a normal treatment to remove the hemorrhage, but Miko was all tense seeing that.

„You care about her,” Veiora noted.

„I love her.”

„O. Oh. It happens. I guess. But I will take it into consideration,” Veiora patted Miko on her shoulder. „Do you need a place to sleep?”

Miko thought of Ratri, of Ratri’s nightmares, and how Sari was trying to spend some time with Ratri on the Foria colony.

I guess it’s time to keep Ratri company myself, she thought.

„I’ll be sleeping on my ship,” she said. „Sari has to remain here, I suppose.”

„For a while? This is quite a serious injury. What happened? Were you attacked? No offense, but you don’t seem to be a person who allows others to hurt her friends… or lovers.”

„We...” Miko felt another rush of guilt. She would have to deal with it for a long while from now on. Possibly she would never get fully rid of guilt. „There was an accident.”

„Oh,” Veiora was apparently not interested in the details. „Accidents happen, I guess. Good for you that you were close. Want another cup of alta?”

„I wouldn’t mind. Does it stop you from sleeping? Coffee does.”

„I’m not sure, it should but...” Veiora looked at the tablet again. „Well, this is all a big experiment, isn’t it?” She grinned.

“I won’t sleep, or I will not, or I will die,” Miko muttered.

At least the “coffee” tasted good and made watching what was happening easier.

“I’m not that ruthless,” Veiora said. She didn’t sound offended.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zathras is (are?) a "Babylon 5" reference.


	14. Chapter 14

The “coffee” made Miko sleepy, despite what Veiora said. This was for the best, Miko thought. She was exhausted – by racing for Sari’s life, being nervous that the aliens won’t be able to help, then by watching the surgery. Veiora offered a short trip on the station and sharing her discoveries (“You have no idea what I have learned about the Watcher’s race!”). Miko just shook her head and went back to Ratri as soon as Veiora’s associate informed, that Sari’s state is stable.

“Stable means she isn’t dying at the moment” Miko muttered. She heard it somewhere… on Echo, as she recalled.

Sitting and waiting for Sari to regain consciousness wouldn’t do any good. Miko needed rest – and Ratri needed some update and someone’s presence. And Miko could have still feel complex, disturbing emotions about the situation that brought them here – and about Ratri’s role in that – but that was no reason to hate Ratri, to exclude her, to reject her.

She curled on the bed. It felt empty and cold, where her girlfriend used to sleep.

It felt horrible when Miko was starting to think.

“You are not all right,” Ratri stated.

Her voice… did her voice change?

Was it her voice, or…?

“What would you expect? You probably know many of those situations yourself...”

“I probably do,” Ratri said. “But I don’t remember.”

She was talking “I”. Not “That other person”.

Sari hated this development. Why Miko didn’t notice it earlier?

Because if Ratri was just a human-built AI, nothing of this would happen.

“How do you feel now?” Miko asked.

“Upset. Angry.”

“With me.”

“With myself.”

“Oh,” Miko wanted it to sound neutral, but she made it sarcastic and bitter and she couldn’t help it.

“You don’t believe I care for her.”

“I don’t know,” Miko stated.

“It’s all right. I know, a little, who I am, who I was. I guess that was not a nice person. And he would kill you. But I would not. And I guess… he… I… I’m not sure where he ends and where I begin Miko.”

Miko just nodded, which was not very visible, since she had her head pressed into the pillow. The pillow smelled of Sari.

“Sari was afraid, of that person, of me changing… But it was you who was right, Miko. Change is inevitable. I started to change once I started to interact, and the fact I have… I have a spark… this just made the change more radical. But I don’t think I will just become that other person. He changed too. His death changed him. What the humans had done to him changed him. Being me changed him. And I don’t think this is going to be me or him Miko. Not anymore.”

“This is still unfair.”

“I know.”

Above her head, Miko heard a panel rustling. A metal claw touched her and she shivered. It was sharp and yes, if Ratri, if this being that was partially Ratri and partially someone else, wanted, they could kill her. But it wouldn’t help them, and they… They didn’t want to. And Miko knew it. And Miko trusted that being, maybe more, that she should, but, what else could she do at the moment?

She reached her hand and touched the cold metal in return. The claw shivered under her fingers.

“Miko?”

“Yes?”

“There are many things you should know… but you need sleep for now. I will watch over you. I will protect you. I love you.”

Miko smiled.

Some things… some things were weird but in the end – they were good.

She slept and she didn’t remember how long did it take or if she had any dreams. When she woke up, for a moment she was not sure, where she was. Was all the journey just a dream? But it was the bedroom on their ship and Miko was alone, Sari’s place was cold because Sari was with the aliens who probably saved her life.

The real coffee was not as good as what Veiora gave Miko yesterday – it was just a cheap stock coffee that was easier to use on the journey – but woke Miko up. Ratri was silent, submerged in her thoughts, but she seemed to be all right.

“Just go, see how is Sari feeling,” she said. “Everything I know is that she is alive.”

Well, that was something, wasn’t it?

The station was oddly quiet. Miko tried to find the medbay she visited last day but failed. Last time she was in too much of a haze to even look, where was she going, so obviously she couldn’t remember the way, and despite the translation systems in Sari’s tablet were able to decipher Nebulan writing, some of the things Miko saw was confusing.

So, in the end, she ended up in what turned to be the station’s cantine, where she got following the voices. There were about a dozen Nebulans and a couple of other aliens sitting there, all of them looking with surprise when Miko entered the room.

“Um, hi?” she said, looking out for Veiora or the medic who operated on Sari. Suddenly all the aliens looked the same. “I’m Miko. I came yesterday, my partner is...”

One of the Nebulans got up. It was the medic – now Miko recognized him.

“Hello!” they said. They were smiling. “You want to know how your partner is?”

“Yes.”

“I checked on her. She is still sleeping, but should wake up in several hours.”

Miko breathed with relief.

“Can I go and see her?”

“Of course. I need to attend to my patient and her guest,” the medic informed the people they were sitting with. “Come.”

The station was like a labyrinth to Miko. Not like the Watcher’s lair, fortunately, but complex enough to get lost.

“Where is Veiora?”

“Probably checking on some of her things. She can get very occupied.”

Miko nodded.

“Of course.”

That neither she nor Sari was Veiora’s object of attention was a little relieving.

“Your partner… good that you managed to get here in time. Almost everything should be all right now.”

Miko felt cold.

“Almost…?”

“Well, there is an ocular nerve damaged. This was an unfortunate fall, your partner suffered, the pressure on the nerve was too big. She is going to lose the sight in her left eye.”

Miko forced herself not to scream. She should be happy Sari was alive, but losing sight…? This was not…

“I am sorry,” the alien medic said. “But she is alive and this is most important. I spoke with Veiora yesterday, and she suggested replacing the eye since your partner already has implants it won’t be a very complex procedure. We could do this, Veiora wanted to do this yesterday in fact… I opposed: I’d prefer your consent.”

“Sari’s consent,” Miko corrected.

She remembered mechanical eyes on the parallel-universe Sari. Well, this was a solution, right?

“Of course. Then you will need to discuss it with your partner when she wakes up. And here we are,” the medic said, opening the door to one part of the medbay.

Sari was lying there, asleep. The left side of her head was hairless and covered with a bandage. But Sari was breathing calmly, sleeping, and the charts over her head, showing her vital signs, looked like normal charts in human hospital – and looked good.

“Thank you,” Miko said. “I have nothing to repay you.”

The medic smiled.

“You have given us the database. Consider it a good enough payment. We are all scientists here and operating on an alien species? This is an opportunity we all need. Wait a moment...” they said. A communicator in their pocket was making sounds and the medic took it out to answer. “Hi. Yes, I’m with the patient. Miko is with me. Yes,” they looked at Miko, concerned. “Veiora asks if you know someone called “Blackout”.”

Miko got tense.

“What?!”

“She seems to know this person,” the medic informed Veiora.

Miko just tore the communicator from their hand.

“What about Blackout?!” she asked.

“Hi there, Miko. I got a call from this person,” Veiora’s voice was inadequately cheerful. “This is a Cybertronian, yes? I got that from the signature of the frequency this person uses. I’m terribly sorry, but he told me that he is going to destroy my lab and I don’t want yet another mechanoid to destroy my lab. I have nothing against mechanoids, you know it, but this Blackout seems to have issues with you, so I just needed to let him in. I hope you manage to deal with him. He is waiting in the hanger bay.”

Then Veiora disconnected.

Miko shouted, threw the communicator on the floor.

“Fuck!” she cursed and then looked at the medic. “Veiora had just let in the guy who probably wants to kill me.”

Veiora possibly didn’t deserve all that anger, but at the moment Miko was angry enough.

The medic picked up the communicator, looked at it, frowned.

“She writes you have to be led to the hanger bay and that she believes you can deal with the situation,” they informed. “Apparently this Blackout threatened us.”

“Don’t you have any, I don’t know, guns to defend yourself?”

“Council’s regulation. Too many of us worked for Zarak Consortium.”

“And Veiora worked for the Council...”

“This is a complicated situation,” the medic said. “Too many parties involved and it is to complex to explain at the moment.”

“It would be less complicated if I didn’t leave my armor on the ship,” Miko muttered.

Then she called Ratri.

“Hey, we will be having company… Blackout. Maybe that is the possibility to ask him if he knew you in your previous life?”

Hearing her own voice, Miko understood why Veiora was so cheerful. There is a level of stress and anger, that you can deal with only with putting on a wide smile and going forward.

“I have something on my sensors,” Ratri confirmed. “The bay opens right now.”

“Can you tear his spark out?”

“If he is in my reach.”

“What is your reach?”

“Preferably inside me.”

Great. Oh, great.

“You cannot reach outside with tentacles?”

“Too little panels on the outside. Too little material converted. I think I could absorb some spare parts, but they are not sentio metallico, co it won’t go as quickly, as it went with the chairs.”

“All right then… Are you able to get me my armor and, I don’t know… put it somewhere I would have easy access to it?”

“I’m searching for a suitable place.”

Miko looked at the medic.

“Just… save Sari. Please.”

They nodded.

“I think by now Veiora sent some message to the nearest patrol,” they said. “Everything we need to do now is to buy some time.”

Buy time. Damn.

If she had an armor, she would be probably able to break Blackout’s arms. And she took the armor with her yesterday when she was just worried that Veiora is going to do something to Sari… this day she felt too safe.

Always take the armor with you, Miko. The lesson for your future. If you survive.

I will survive, she thought. Come on, I’ve met creatures more dangerous, than Blackout.

The medic left her at the entrance to the hanger bay, airlock closing behind her back. Miko breathed in and out.

“No way out,” she muttered to herself.

I helped to kill the damn Watcher. I have promised Megatron to kill him if it would be necessary. I am able to deal with one damn Seeker, and this one is not even undead and mad because of what was done to him. He is just an idiot.

She entered the bay.

Blackout was standing beside Ratri, and possibly in a place outside of the reach of the tentacles. He was just looking at the hull and Miko wanted to punch him, so very much. He was not even aware of what was he really looking at.

Would he be angry? Would he feel sympathy?

Did it even matter right now?

He heard the airlock opening and looked towards Miko. The red eyes flared and the Seeker smiled.

“Here you are, human. You had messed with us for too long now.”

“Where is Acid Storm?” Miko asked.

“They caught him. And this is your fault.”

“You are an idiot. Would Megatron approve of you being so stupid?” she just couldn’t help herself. “I doubt it. I guess not even Starscream would approve. And I’ve heard some interesting things about him.”

Miko was not afraid anymore, not really, adrenaline making her chose the “fight” option in the “fight or flight” scenario.

“Ratri,” she said to the ship.

“Yes,” Ratri answered and to do it she, surprisingly, used not the speaker in communicator, but the outside speakers.

Her voice sounded… No, now it was not her voice.

Blackout froze, for a moment he looked away from Miko.

“What the frag…?”

Did he recognize the voice?

This was not the time to think – the unexpected distraction worked and Miko just needed to grab the armor, that was thrown away from the ship.

She ran.

Blackout noticed where the human is running to and he probably noticed the disc falling to the floor. His footsteps boomed on the floor as he ran to grab – Miko or the armor didn’t matter.

Miko jumped, fell on her stomach, and slid the last distance until she felt the reassuring coldness of metal under her fingers.

She also felt a large hand grabbing her. Not gentle at all, the strong fingers pressed aggressively against her chest.

The armor slipped from her hand. Miko shouted.

“You don’t have your toy,” Blackout said, almost purred, with satisfaction. “You don’t have your sparkeater and there is no one to help you human. I’m going to get rid of you, pest.”

“You know, you won’t have any problems, if you didn’t decide to pursue us in the first place,” Miko said, trying to wriggle out of the black metal fingers.

“Funny, Acid Storm told me the same,” Blackout said. He picked Miko up so she was now on the level of his face. It was dark silver, several tones lighter, than the rest of his plating. The red eyes burned like embers. There was something in his facial features that resembled Starscream – even now, when Starscream had an entirely new frame, the face was similar, like made with the same mold. “And it was him, who got himself arrested. Because you had given Prowl his name.”

“I had little choice, you know.”

“So this is what we have in common,” Blackout said and squeezed. Miko felt a sharp stab of pain. “We have no choice.”

His fingers pressed harder. Miko shouted, feeling a rib breaking.

“Long time since I’ve last killed a human,” Blackout purred. “You make delightful sounds when you break.”

“We are...” Miko managed to spat “...making… terrible stains… you don’t want…”

She didn’t end the sentence, because the next rib snapped. She screamed.

“Ratri!” her scream echoed in the bay. “Ratri! Veiora! Anyone!”

She saw Blackout’s burning eyes. She saw the hanger opening behind her, heard the hiss of air escaping into space.

She saw white when the pain came and the third rib cracked.

Then Blackout’s fingers loosened suddenly. In a haze, Miko noticed a smudge of red, then heard a loud clang, when Blackout hit the wall of the hanger.

She fell. It hurt. The broken ribs hurt, but it was not her first time, broken ribs were not a big deal until they didn’t pierce a lung and…

Above her, a red mech was pushing a black one against the wall.

“Should I kill you, Blackout?” Miko heard. She crept towards the armor, activated it. It gave her chest enough support for the pain to weaken.

“Why did you follow me?” Blackout asked.

“Because I had a bad feeling about it and I was right,” Shatter answered.

“I have told you, those humans...”

“This human is under my protection, unless I decide otherwise,” Shatter spat.

She was furious, her eyes flaring brightly, almost white, and Miko thought, it was a while since she has seen something as beautiful.

“This human is...”

“Oh, just shut up,” Shatter answered and she just hit Blackout’s head on the wall.

Something deactivated in Blackout, his eyes went dark and he fell on the floor with a loud clang.

Miko stood there. Just stood there.

Shatter smiled.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“What did you do to make him so furious?”

“What did you do for entire Cybertron to hate you?”

Shatter laughed.

“This was you. The human allegedly Starscream protected from dangerous terrorists. Why am I not surprised?”

“What can I say? I’m apparently doing a Decepticon high command bingo. And you made a quite big explosion there.”

“And you just cannot stay away from trouble.”

“I don’t mind if you are the trouble.”

Ratri hissed. She used the outside speakers again.

“Don’t flirt with her, Miko!” Ratri protested.

Miko and Shatter looked at each other, surprised.

“I have a sweetspark,” Shatter protested. “What is that?” she asked, looking at the ship.

“This is… Ummm… how to put it… probably the biggest of my problems right now. Have you killed Blackout? Because I kind of need him.”

***

Shatter declared she needed Blackout too.

“He is kind of an idiot,” she stated. “But a useful one.”

So Blackout was cuffed, Miko had no idea, where Shatter got the suitable cuffs, it looked as if she took them out from nowhere. He was still, well, blackouted and Miko couldn’t help, but contemplate the way he was built. There were some similarities to Shatter – since one of her alts was a jet – and to Starscream’s current form. But from what Miko understood most of the Seekers used to be built in the same way. Hence the similarity between Blackout and Acid storm: the same shape of wings, the same face even. Thundercracker, whom Miko had met on Earth, was from the same stock as well.

Ratri was once like that.

“How did you got in this mess in the first place. And…” Shatter’s eyes narrowed dangerously. She was suspicious and had all the rights to be. “Why did you leave your planet?”

“I’m not planning to kill anyone, if that’s what you are asking,” Miko said quickly. “So, you don’t have to kill me. I got um… kind of a thank-you note... But this was not the reason. I just wanted to go see some galaxy and my partner... Well, her father had enough resources to get her this ship built, but then everything went wrong, long story short,” she sighed. “My partner is probably still unconscious, but Veiora helped her. We had so much luck that she was around. And that you were around too.”

“I just had a bad feeling about Blackout’s private matters,” Shatter stated. “So I followed him. I was right. What did you do to get him this mad?”

“The problem is… nothing? He had mistaken us for… well, he believed us to steal something from him.”

She told the story of what happened on the Froian colony, but she omitted the “sparkeater” incident and everything that concerned Ratri. For now. Shatter was kind of a friend, but she was a dangerous terrorist at some time and had her own goals that could collide with Miko’s interests in the future.

“So Fortress Maximus himself followed them and then you were taken to Prowl and Blackout blames it on you?” Shatter summarized the story.

“Long story short, yes. That’s what happened.”

“He needed to go after someone, I guess,” Shatter threw her associate disapproving glance. “Since Prowl or Fortress Maximus would probably leave him in pieces.”

“Are all the Seekers like this?” Miko asked.

Ratri’s speakers emitted a displeased sound. Miko sighed.

“What do you mean by all the Seekers?” Shatter asked. “I don’t know many of them. There were barely any left in the universe I came from. They were mostly cold constructed and the Functionists decided them to be… well…” she grimaced. “Another frametype that was exterminated. So, all the Seekers I know are from here. Starscream has a… certain opinion,” she grimaced again. “I’ve never met him, but I would gladly smash his pretty face. Most of the other Seekers were his direct subordinates, and that makes them seriously messed up, I guess. I also heard they all are at least a little vain and at least a little treacherous, but this might be a stereotype. Being related to Starscream does the job, I guess.”

Miko sighed again.

“I have a Seeker problem,” she said. “And this is not Blackout. And not Starscream. I will explain later, I guess. I need to see Sari first. My partner. And to put some bandage on my chest, ugh.”

She kept the armor on since it kept the ribs in place, but it hurt when she moved. She had no idea, how much her rib cage was crushed and displaced. Last time, when she fell down the well in Watcher’s lair, the thrusters stopped the fall a little and the spacesuit held the ribs in place: the armor reinforced it then. Now it seemed that the injuries were more serious.

But Sari is going to lose sight in one eye, she thought. It will be good. She is probably going to be all right too…

...but I caused it. And our journey leads us from one misadventure to another. We were lucky… by far.

There is still Ratri. There is still her past and her suffering and we cannot leave her like that, and we cannot just leave-leave her. We need transport, and we are responsible for her.

“I knew you will do it!” exclaimed Veiora, who waited outside the airlock.

“I almost died there, thank you very much.”

“Oh, but I let the other one in. Shatter, was it? She seems to be a decent person.”

“Shatter is anything but a decent person. I just happened to be on her good side. And you are not on my good side at the moment, Veiora. Just let me see Sari.”

But Veiora followed her.

“What are you going to do with Blackout?” she asked.

“Shatter needs him. She guards him at the moment, so don’t think we are going to let you cut him into pieces.”

“Who do you think I am!” Veiora exclaimed, apparently offended.

“A mad scientist with no morals?”

“Well, that too, but...”

Miko snapped.

“Listen, I have enough of mecha cut into pieces and I have enough of you. If you don’t understand it...”

Veiora backed off.

“I get it. Sorry. Sorry. My bad.”

This time Sari was awake and Miko cursed – Veiora, Blackout, the overall situation, Shatter, but mostly herself – that she wasn’t there when Sari awoke.

But apparently, the medic was there and explained the situation. Sari looked confused, a little scared, but she didn’t panic and wasn’t trying to get out.

Miko almost ran to her. The only thing that stopped her was an awareness that she was the one responsible for Sari’s state.

But Sari didn’t know it. She smiled.

“Miko! Thank goodness! I was worried!” she looked at the armor. “Is everything all right…?”

Are we in danger, asked Sari’s eyes. One of her eyes, although the left one looked normally to Miko.

“More or less. I had a run into Blackout, again. My ribs are a mess. I need someone to put me in the bandages.”

Sari reached out her hand and Miko realized, she hadn’t even briefly touched her when she entered the room.

This should be worrying for Sari if she really didn’t remember what happened.

Miko approached to reluctantly take her girlfriend’s hand. At the same time, she let the armor fold back and hissed when the broken ribs lost support.

“Were we attacked?” Sari asked. Her fingers were warm and soft in Miko’s hand and Miko wanted to kiss them, to fall on her knees and beg for forgiveness.

“You don’t remember, right?”

Sari shook her head.

“No.”

Miko sighed.

“It was an accident, but...”

She looked away. Sari squeezed her fingers.

“Miko, love, look at me. You feel guilty.”

“I pushed you” Miko muttered.

“Miko. Were we fighting?”

“No? Yes. No. I don’t know. It was about Ratri.”

“Of course. Of course, it was about Ratri,” Sari shivered. “Had I… had she told something?”

“You wanted her to revise the memory files and I wanted to stop it.”

“Oh,” Sari said. It seemed to be something completely different than she expected to happen.

What…? Was there any secret Miko didn’t know about?

But Sari was stroking her fingers, not mad at her.

“We will have to talk, sweetheart,” she said. “I should have told you something… earlier. But I do love you and I would never leave you. Never.”

“Uh? Ok?”

“Just let the medic see your ribs, love. You are wasting time. I’m not going anywhere,” Sari smiled weakly. “I’m still unable to.”

“Yeah,” Miko muttered and took off her shirt.

Underneath her body was covered with dark bruises, where Blackout’s fingers squeezed and crushed her. It was not a pleasant look and it hurt like hell, but Miko had seen worse.

“I survived,” she told the medic. “I didn’t kill Veiora. And now you get to treat another human.”

“I see,” the medic answered patiently.

Miko sat on the spare bed when they worked on putting her in bandages. Sari smiled from the other side. Damn. The way she was turning her head indicated something was indeed wrong with her left eye.

“Tell me everything from the beginning,” Sari asked.

So Miko did, slowly, reluctantly at the beginning, the guilt overflowing her the more, the more Sari frowned. Like Sari was also thinking all that happened was her fault when it clearly wasn’t. Because, damn, Sari had been mistaken, but she didn’t push anyone, she didn’t cause anyone almost dying and losing sight in one eye, and…

Or maybe it was the “falling in love” part? But Miko didn’t feel jealous at all, so, damn it, damn it, it was just simply stupid to think this could be the reason.

“So you left Shatter with Blackout?” Sari asked at the end.

“I needed to go back to you.”

“And you left a wanted terrorist along with the guy that tried to kill.”

“Veiora let them both inside, so it is technically her fault.”

Sari laughed, and despite her laughter was tired, it was honest and Miko really believed now, it is going to be good, despite everything.

“I want to meet your Shatter,” Sari declared. “Are you going to introduce me?”

***

Sari had seen Shatter before only briefly – on the square after the explosion and then on Windblade’s screen and in the news when Miko was watching it. Shatter was only a little surprised when Miko introduced Sari as her “partner”.

“As in “partner in business” or as in “partner in life”?”

“The later,” Sari said.

She hoped it remains like that, despite everything.

Ratri was something that was standing between them now, but it didn’t have to be this way, right?

She needed to get back her strength and a new eye – what she was seeing with her left eye right now was clouded and the medic said it was going to get worse, so replacing the eye with a mechanical one was the obvious solution – and then she was going to work on keeping her relationship. She initiated it and she caused this unfortunate series of events.

Shatter grinned.

“Congratulations. I have a sweetspark too,” Shatter said.

“Something serious?” Miko asked.

“We are dating… We had… well. She is brilliant and lovely,” there was a dreamy expression on Shatter’s face, Sari recognized it now without an issue. Missfire had the same look to him when he was talking about Frot Max. “Nothing committed, yet. No plans for rites right now, It would be a little complicated to have a public ceremony given that I’m kind of wanted.”

“On the Sanctuary Station?” Miko asked. “Or Soundwave doesn’t support your actions?”

Shatter laughed again.

“Oh, he does, but you didn’t hear it. Officially he is against it. That makes things a little difficult, you know, because he needs me, and he is not the only one, only the others who need me think they don’t. But the problem is, my sweetspark has too many important friends, and right now she needs to hide our relationship...” Shatter’s vents hissed. “Oh, Primus, I kind of let Dropkick mess up one of her friends, apparently. But to my defense, he was an aggressive idiot. Would make a good ‘Con.”

“Yeah,” Miko agreed and her eyes went towards the opposite wall, where Blackout was still shackled. “Heard something about it. The mech Dropkick had messed up… what happened?”

“He was on the square as well, followed us. Really, I tried to explain to him, but, no. So I snapped and asked him if he got empurata for being stupid. Not sensitive of me at all, and only made him angrier. I don’t blame him. I learned who he was later,” she shook her head. “Too many mecha would love to kill me for this, I guess. Well, I still don’t regret what I’ve done there. I just made it harder for some people to hide their dirt. So, what is your story with this idiot? Why do you need him?” she pointed towards Blackout.

Sari looked at Miko. Miko looked at her.

“Go on, this is something you should tell,” Miko said.

So Sari sighed and told the story. Shatter was listening with her eyes wide and bright red.

“I came here too late to hate your species,” she declared. “Now I kind of do.”

Sari sighed again.

“Tell me about it. Sometimes I hate my species as well. Anyway, the point is, that we hope to use Blackout to get Ratri’s…” she hesitated. “Well, the name of that Seeker inside.”


	15. Chapter 15

“Well this is going to be interesting,” Veiora said. She folded her arms and looked at Blackout cuffed to the wall of the hangar bay in her own station. “Remind me, what are we doing, again?”

“We need information,” Miko said.

Sari sighed.

She didn’t like it, but Miko was, in the end, right. No more running from the truth, neither for them nor for Ratri.

Would Ratri still be Ratri, once they learn the name of her predecessor? Sari didn’t have the opportunity to speak to her about it and she felt guilty. Because Ratri wanted to know, even if that would change her forever. Sari tried to stop her and that ended in tragedy.

Miko felt guilty, but it was just an accident – and it was Sari who pushed it all.

She needed to talk to Ratri. She needed to talk to Miko – about what happened between Ratri and her before, about where the “synchronizing” led, about how it felt, about the “falling in love” part.

Now Sari was not even sure if the “falling in love” was real. If she felt it for an imaginary, artificial personality she invented and wanted to shape – was it really love? She Loved Miko as Miko was, loud, fearless, careless sometimes. She had never tried to change Miko, she just accepted her. But apparently, it was too hard to accept Ratri as she was, as she was becoming.

It is not a real love when you love an image, not a person.

She squeezed Miko’s hand and felt something squeezing inside of her.

I’m losing Ratri, she thought. But I was losing her anyway. I just need to get over it.

Miko was looking at her. Sari sighed.

“Ratri. I’m sorry for what happened. This is your life and your decision.”

“Smart one,” she heard Shatter.

Blackout was still looking around. This was a little cruel to him but not as cruel as what had happened to Ratri before.

“Blackout,” Sari heard.

Not Ratri’s voice. The other voice. More masculine-sounding and crueler.

“What?!” Blackout exclaimed. He reacted this way before, according to Miko.

“Blackout,” Ratri-not-Ratri repeated.

“S… Slipstream? What the frag is this? What the frag is this?!” Blackout shouted.

“Well, he definitely knows this voice.”

“Shatter, what the frag?!” Blackout shouted again, both surprised and panicked

“This is just to let you go and forget this mess you made, Blackout,” Shatter said. “You are not really helping me, you know. Who is Slipstream?”

“Was. Slipstream is dead.”

“Yes, Blackout,” Miko said “He had figured that out. We also know you had left him to die.”

“I did not!” Blackout protested. “I would never leave my trinemate to die!”

Sari felt something shrinking inside her again.

Trinemate. She had heard the word “trine” already, right? Ratri mentioned something, that the three of them…

But it was not them. It was this Slipstream. And Blackout, who tried to kill Miko. And some other, unnamed Seeker.

She felt tears flowing down her cheeks, from the healthy eye, and from the one, that couldn’t see anymore.

Miko spat a curse. She looked at the others. Ratri was silent and Sari missed being plugged to her, feeling her feelings.

Only it was not Ratri’s feelings now but Slipstream’s. Sari wanted to run away, the weakness was the only thing stopping her from doing that.

“How was Slipstream killed?” Miko demanded.

“Why would I even tell you? Why do you want to know it? Shatter, what is happening here?”

“I’m buying your safety, idiot,” Shatter answered. “They need answers. And you need to get away from them as much, as possible.”

Only now it will be hard, Sari thought bitterly, since Ratri was built from the remains of Blackout’s… friend? Trinemate. Of all the Seekers that existed, and there were probably many, many more of them…

“We will let you go, Blackout,” Miko confirmed. “Shatter can remove your cuffs right now. I have no grudge against you, but we needed to know who Slipstream was.”

“Why? Why do you have his voice?”

“We had… some old files,” Sari said. Well, this was technically right. “We wanted to know what happened. It seems Slipstream was wounded and left to die. You did not participate in it, but the others had.”

“Starscream! I will rip him to pieces!”

“There is a long line of people who want to do this,” Shatter said. “Take your place and wait patiently,” She looked at the humans “What now?” she asked.

“We have the name,” Miko said. Sari noticed a heavy note in her voice. The relationship between Blackout and Ratri’s former self didn’t make Miko exactly happy. “We know something more. We proceed as planned: we go, find Ratchet, consult with him. Then… then we will see. It is a possibility we will give Blackout his trinemate back. Which probably won’t save Starscream from the long line of mecha wanting to kill him, but…”

Shatter shook her head.

“Just two little humans...”

Miko rosed her chin.

“This human survived the Watcher and she survived you.”

“Good luck, then. May we remain allies longer. Anyone who gets on your bad side has a serious problem, Miko.”

Miko laughed.

“Blackout almost killed me, but, well, I’m still here, so you might be right. Good luck to you too.”

Shatter stood up and approached the trapped Seeker.

“All right, idiot,” she stated. “We go now. And next time when you see those two humans and you try to kill them, I will kill you.”

She detached the cuffs from the wall.

Veiora looked at this with fascination. She closed the airlock and opened it again once both mecha were outside. Then she smiled widely to Miko and Sari.

“Your ship… is made of a dead mechanoid?”

“There are some parts build into it,” Sari answered.

She didn’t say what parts.

“May I see it?”

Sari opened her mouth to protest, but Miko was quicker.

“No, definitely no. Sorry. This is too complicated for us and no. We need to consult a Cybertronian medic and then, maybe, maybe I will send you something.”

“The Zarak Consortium was working on Cybertronian technology, you know. Maybe I could help...”

“Your Zarak Consortium apparently did some things either your government or the Galactic Council or both don’t support,” Miko reminded her.

“Science forces us sometimes to make decisions, that are unethical, but can save millions of lives later on,” Veiora protested.

“We know that,” Sari said. “Our planet has a history of war crimes that had proven to be important for science and medicine later. But our ship is an effect of such a war crime itself. And it’s enough, we are not going to allow more. Sorry.”

Veiora nodded.

“I get it. I hoped, but, I understand. I’m not entirely without conscience.”

“I noticed,” Miko said. “Thank you for understanding.”

“And you still get to operate on my eye,” Sari added.

“Good, because I have some nice supplies that could help here!”

“Then go to prepare them,” Sari suggested. “We need to talk to R… to our ship now.”

Her voice faltered. Damn. She didn’t want it.

Was she afraid? What was Ratri thinking right now? Who was she?

“Go to her,” Miko said, as Veiora left. “She was worried, you know. She probably still is. And not only about you.”

“I know,” Sari nodded.

Did it have to be so hard?

She walked slowly, still weak. Probably she should have remained in the med bay, but sometimes there were more important things to do.

The ship was dark and silent inside.

“Ratri?” she asked slowly, then, when there was no answer, she tried the other name. “Slipstream?”

“It is Ratri,” the voice answered.

“It can be Slipstream if you want. I… listen, I’m sorry. I wanted to take it from you and you deserve to know – or to decide for yourself.”

“I didn’t want to lose you, Sari,” It was Ratri’s voice, sad and a little scared and Sari wanted to hug Ratri or at least a part of her. Or Slipstream, whoever this being now was. “I was afraid you will stop loving me.”

“And now I am afraid I will lose you.”

“Will it help, if I told you, I too am afraid?”

“Ratri, listen… if you want it and if there is a way for you… for Slipstream to be himself again, to return to his loved ones… Then I agree with that.”

“This is not so simple, Sari,” Ratri said. “I don’t think Slipstream as he used to exist anymore. He was not completely destroyed, but he changed… And I doubt “he” is a good pronoun for him either. He… they… she? Used to use it, yes, but I have this feeling, we have it, I have it – that “she” is just better. It fits Ratri and it fits Slipstream. It fits us. Me.”

“Oh.”

“I know the name now. My name. Our name. I know who Blackout was for us. It is not easy. I feel pain when I think of Blackout. Slipstream loved him. I loved him. But I love you and I love Miko and somehow my programming, what is left of Slipstream there… it recognized you as my trine.”

“What is a trine exactly?”

“I guess it has something to do with synchronization? I don’t know exactly, I don’t remember. But there were the three of us and it always was normal. I guess it is a natural thing for the Seekers? We synchronized. We were close. We were… lovers? Friends? Family? A little of each. A Trine.”

Sari nodded.

Something no human will ever experience, not in the way Cybertronians experience it. The implant and connecting to Ratri was only a substitute.

“Blackout… I feel the warmth when I think of him. I feel anger, too. Part of me is angry because Slipstream thinks Blackout left him… her… too – but he did not, now I know it. Part of me loves him. Part of me hates him because he tried to kill you and almost killed Miko. I know there was a third of us, but I feel only sadness and emptiness when I try to recall something, so I suppose this third one must have died before Slipstream was killed. We were together and we fell apart. It happens. I think Acid Storm must have lost his trine too since he was alone? I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m confused. This is too much and I have this feeling I don’t know anymore, I’m not sure who I am and who I want to be. I know I love you. I know I love Miko. My...” she hesitated. “My spark. It is so weird to say, you know? My spark needs you. Needs to be with you. I think we were… my kind… Slipstream’s kind… we were built to bond with the others.”

“So were humans.”

“This is what all the sentient beings have in common, don’t they? The need to bond with the others. To build relationships. To love.”

“You are sentient,” Sari said. “You really are sentient. Not in the way I wanted. I wanted a creation, a child, in a way. Someone to shape. And I didn’t even realize it.”

“I’m sorry that I am not what you wanted me to be.”

“It’s ok!” Sari protested. “I think, once I return to Earth I will try to build sentient AI myself, from scratch. But it will be not to replace you. You are not what you wanted, but I… I want you,” She said that and she suddenly felt her face getting hot. There were… implications of what she had just said. An almost sexual intimacy she shared with Ratri when they both weren’t exactly aware of it. There were different, too different, how could it work? But she wanted it. Damn.

There was a deep rumble inside the engine, exactly the same, as the first time the connection between Ratri and Sari had gotten into a vaguely sexual direction. Ratri remembered, her programming remembered, and from what Sari understood, this kind of intimacy, this kind of… probably sexuality? - was something Slipstream used to experience with her trine.

It was weird to think about it, but not unpleasant.

“Have you told Miko?”

“No.”

“Then do it. Talk to her. I might love you, but I still don’t know what happens to me next will I be in the end… But you and Miko share something special and I know I don’t want to destroy it. Tell her what happened.”

Ratri was right and Sari didn’t like it.

Too many things happened between her, and the ship, and the dead Decepticon inside, and if she didn’t want the consequences to be even worse, she needed to tell Miko the truth.

She didn’t want it.

She spent the next few hours talking with Veiora and one of the other scientists, helping them to understand what kind of design she had in mind and what kind of programming and ports it would need to be compatible with the technology Sari already had. She must have stop Veiora, when she suggested using some parts of “salvaged technology, this is a marvel, things I’m currently working on!”. She might have to understand the enthusiasm, but it was enough to have Ratri – and Slipstream – as a part of a dubious experiment.

Sari had some ideas about what the new implant could give her. More advantages, to compensate for the risk of removing the original eye and potential complications.

In the end, however, the thought of talking to Miko was returning all the time.

Miko was spending lots of time in an observation desk staring into deep space, her headphones on. She used to spend the time like the earlier, but now Sari felt some kind of unrest in her, saw some tension in her pose.

She approached and waited until Miko took the headphones off.

“Yes, love?” she asked.

She sounded worried.

“Now we must talk,” Sari told her, and this caused Miko to get even more tense.

“Can it wait?” Miko asked. “Your eye...”

“Is Veiora rushing things?”

Miko laughed.

“She apparently has many, many spare parts she is far too eager to use. You will have to check everything before you agree that she put anything in you. And I don’t remember her being like this on _Echo_ , but she interacted mainly with Soundwave then… And people react differently in different circumstances, I guess?”

“My eye can wait a little bit,” Sari answered. She sighed. “I was hiding that from you for too long and it makes things only more complicated, so I guess I need to say it. It is not easy for me, and considering Ratri is not what I wanted her to be… But if she was, then it would never happen...”

Damn. She noticed Miko’s eyes got large with surprise and worry. She started the talk badly, but there probably was no good way to tell what happened.

“What is wrong?”

“I… I’d love to say, that nothing, but I think it might be wrong...” Sari found herself looking down. She didn’t remember being that shy in the past. No, this was not shyness, but shame.

She was not a person to be easily ashamed of sexuality. No one taught her to be: her father left her with the books when she was entering puberty and just let her do what she was doing with every knowledge: find out herself. And it was pretty easy to experiment with her own imagination and her own body, even when experimenting with most of human beings was not very interesting (said human beings were mostly uninteresting). Having needs and desires was normal, and she was always comfortable about them around Miko, even before they become lovers. But what happened with Ratri was strange enough and probably beyond the experience of most human beings.

“I told you, I feel guilty, yes?” she started again. Not the best start either. “And that I am, was, am, in love with Ratri. But there is one thing that happened, twice actually, and I haven’t told you. I’m still not sure how it works exactly, but we had figured out, that a link can be intimate for a Cybertronian – so it can be like this for Ratri. That’s how I...” she felt her lips shiver again. “...hurt Slipstream. But this is not all. Two times when I was linked with Ratri I felt this… it translated to my body as sexual,” she said quickly. She felt her face burning, again. Less from shame, more at the memory of what happened. “The first time, I was not sure. The second, well, I just went to you. Ratri also felt it, somehow. She liked it. I liked it. For her it is something normal, well, for Slipstream it is. For me… you know, not so much. I’m sorry.”

Miko was starring at her with her eyes open wide. She shook her head and Sari was afraid, because she had no idea, what kind of reaction she should expect.

“This is...” Miko said in the end. “Ok, weird. I didn’t expect that. But it makes sense.”

“Are you mad?”

“Only confused,” Miko admitted. “Why should I be mad?”

“You could think this is cheating.”

Miko blinked and then laughed.

“This is too complicated to be called cheating. Cheating is… something stupid white guys do. And it usually doesn’t include your spaceship. This situation is too complicated to simply call it “cheating”.”

“So you are not jealous?”

“I am. A little bit. But, you know, this is not the kind of jealousy that makes you go mad and hate everything and everyone, canceling relationship, I don’t know, killing people? Hey, you had told me you won’t leave me, and even if you did...” Miko shook her head. “This is not a situation that happens to people every day, this is not something we expected to happen, we had no idea it could happen. And, in the end, we have no idea how it will end. I don’t think that applying the term “cheating” to the situation is good. And jealousy?” she shrugged. “It happens. I will deal with it.”

Miko reached out, stroked Sari’s cheek, under the area where the hair was shaven off, where there was a hole drilled in the skull. The left eye saw only a blur, but Sari felt fingers touching her.

“I love you,” Miko said. “I love you and I’m not going to stop loving you because, what, some cables? You still love me after this accident, and this is more than I would ever ask for.”

Sari leaned against her. She needed this: closeness. This was what sentient beings were created for: to create bonds and relationships, to love.

But Ratri needed love too, and so did Slipstream.

“This still is not a solution, you know,” Sari said.

“For what?”

“For now we are going to function… with Ratri, or Slipstream, or whatever name she is going to use.”

“Do we have to find this solution right now?”

“No,” Sari agreed. “I guess there is no proper script for what to do in such a situation in any human culture? I mean, this is kind of a polyamory situation? I don’t know? Maybe? But Ratri or Slipstream is not human, and she told me the Seekers form trines, and this is natural for them, and from what I understood trines are not exactly the same, as polyamorous relationships humans form? They seem to be kind of… queerplatonic? And there is still the issue of compatibility. And then, even if she sees us as her trine now, this can change, obviously,” Sari sighed. There was still Blackout and Sari couldn’t say she isn’t exactly jealous. “Because we can decide it. Because Ratri, or Slipstream,” It was hart to remind herself of the other name every time, but Sari needed to do it, she didn’t want to make the same mistake again. And Slipstream didn’t sound bad. And definitely, it sounded better than “murderous undead Decepticon”. Once she had her name, Slipstream was something familiar. “She can decide she wants to be with her own kind? And… I will need to accept this.”

“You would still have me, love. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know.”

This was reassuring. They will have each other, no matter what happens.

***

The next days were waiting and talking. Talking was good – waiting was something Miko was never good at. She would prefer to leave the station – despite the Nebulans were mostly nice. She heard of course some rumors indicating that about half of the scientists had participated in questionable experiments in the past… Veiora was, obviously, one of them, but she at least considered Miko someone who deserved her protection. This naturally extended to Sari and Ratri/Slipstream. And, to a degree, to Shatter. Veiora had to, as she informed Miko, make some report of the intruders. So she decided to omit some details. A good side of having rather questionable morals.

“Shatter is wanted on her planet? Well, too bad she helped us in the Kaschig’s Field, right?” Veiora said, smiling.

“And then she used us as hostages,” Miko reminded.

Veira shrugged.

“I’d do the same if my friend was in danger,” she sighed. “I had one friend, you know. They died on _Echo_.”

Her assistant, who got possessed by the Watcher.

This way Miko learned some things about the aliens she met then. The captain of _Steadfast Progress_ apparently gathered a mismatched crew, often going against the guidelines given to him by the Council. His first officer, the asshole who caused that whole situation was his closest friend or lover, and was disgraced and degraded for his involvement with Black Block Consortia. Veiora was… well, she worked for an organization known for giving space to dangerous unethical experiments. Veiora wasn’t – at least according to herself – this bad. Her mentor, oh, he was apparently a monster. And Veiora’s assistant, her closest friend, was also her mentor’s victim.

“We killed him,” Veiora informed and her voice was cheerful when she said that. “And then all this fell apart and we had nowhere to go, but the captain invited us.”

There were more people like this on _Steadfast Progress_ , outcasts who shouldn’t be there, but the captain accepted them, for good or worse. Mostly for worse, because most of them were dead now. The captain’s decision turned out not to be the most reasonable one in the end. If Fal Trena hadn’t convinced the captain to attack _Echo…_

If, if, if. There were many ifs.

Veiora regretted only the death of her friend.

“Just don’t let it happen to your Sari,” she said.

“We don’t plan to meet the Watcher’s race.”

“Oh, most of us don’t plan it, all right. But in the end, they can decide this for us. They are still out there.”

Or in one of the multiple parallel universes they went to, Miko thought. Hopefully, they will stay there. Hopefully, the passages are sealed and we never see them again.

“You are researching them?”

Veiora nodded.

“It can be useful. Do you disapprove? Soundwave said he will kill me if I go too far,” she shrugged. “I’m still alive. I guess I’m outside of his reach.”

“You can find something to fight them,” Miko suggested. “Something to protect us. To protect people like your dead friend… and like Sari.”

“There was a weak point in Croz’ik’s implants…” Veiora started to think. “I suspect what it was, exactly. I can check if your Sari has something like this when I will be installing the new eye for her… There was this funny thing with the frequency, but it is not something that affects organic beings, even those with implants...”

She was thinking and it was both reassuring and dangerous.

But if Veiora’s mad scientist tendencies could help, then, why not?

Veiora spent lots of time with Sari discussing the implant. This was reassuring: Sari was not going to let the scientist install something suspicious.

“I’ve already let them do it once,” she said, as they were lying curled in bed, the night before the operation. “I let dad give me something that...” she frowned. “I got something I love in the end, but I was tricked and I feel horrible about it. I’m trying to tell myself, that dad didn’t know himself, but this doesn’t help, because it would mean he is as stupid as I was. So he is either an idiot, or he had no hesitation to use parts of a sentient being.”

Miko stroked Sari’s head, where the hair was short and shaven. There was still a bandage there and a hole in Sari’s skull. The hole was to be used to install the implant. The hair was going to grow out someday, now Sari looked a little like a cyborg from 20th-century science fiction. If the automatic eye was going to be visible, the effect was going to more striking.

“And I keep thinking,” Sari continued. “The other me… the Sari from parallel universe: what happened to her? Why was he like this? Was it an accident? Was it her dad’s experiment? She was younger than me in the end.”

“I have no idea,” Miko said.

“Teenage me would be delighted though.”

“Even if it would be your dad’s doing?”

“I don’t know. Depends? I might feel betrayed if something happened without my knowledge. You know, if they told me how Ratri was built, I’d probably still take her. I only would be aware of what she is and prepared for what happened. Damn. I feel guilty.”

“I feel guilty,” Miko reminded her.

Sari still didn’t remember the moment of her fall. She could have asked Ratri for recordings but didn’t want to. She believed Miko without question.

She loves me, Miko thought. She loves me more than I deserve.

And who was saying that Cybertronians are messed up in their relationships? They just live longer than humans, many, many more opportunities to screw up.

She kissed Sari’s brow.

“Go to sleep, love. You need to rest.”

“I’d be unconscious anyway.”

“But you need to check the implant before. And besides, I’ve heard, that you hear when they drill in your skull, even when you are unconscious, so, no fun here.”

“I’ve been there already, remember? I have a hole in my head. It will be ok. Veiora knows you will kill her if she screws up.”

“I will kill anyone, who screws up,” Miko promised.

And she waited. She was the one who could not sleep and who was staying with lots and lots of coffee – they would have to use less of it after, because the supply was limited – during the surgery, almost as anxious as the first time, despite she knew now it was much, much different than before.

She talked to Ratri – or to Slipstream. The person inhabiting the ship’s computers still was not sure. She tried to talk to the alien scientists, but the rumor of her involvement in “you know, this thing with Kaschig’s Field!” spread and Miko preferred not to be asked too many questions, despite they weren’t about the identities of _Echo’s_ crew. The scientists were interested in the details Miko couldn’t tell them. If she answered any questions, it was mostly “you know, I shoot it”.

***

The surgery was longer this time, but Sari regained consciousness earlier. The first thing she noticed, was strain inside the left eye socket. The muscles were not used to the new part, the nerves were partially numb – some of them as an effect of the accident, some still felt the effects of anesthesia. She blinked and it felt… different. The image in the left eye was sharp, much sharper, that what she saw before the accident – and she was lucky to have the almost perfect eyesight.

The other thing she felt was Miko’s fingers, of course, around her hand.

“Hey, love, this was just cosmetic,” she said, smiling.

Miko was… Damn, she saw every pore on her skin now, every fading strand of pink in her black hair. And the bags under Miko’s eyes, naturally.

“This was still you under surgery.”

“So you didn’t sleep.”

Sari was squinting her right eye, this was a little of instinct, the adjustment should take some time. On the other hand, the implant she chose (Veiora had indeed some interesting things “from older times”) had some interesting option build in. Expanding this was fascinating.

Well, if the glimpse from parallel universe was any indication…

“I did not.”

“It will be all right.”

She slid down from the bed, looked around. Oh, here they were, in the corner of her new eye, the additional options. Things, she tried before with glasses and contact lenses, now just inside her. If she tried to…

She grinned, as she saw the menu overlayed on the image of the lab.

“It works,” she announced.

“What works?”

“Additional options!” Sari exclaimed excitedly. “Of course, the processor and operating systems attached to the processor don’t have an extremely big capacity, but if synchronized...” she hesitated, suddenly remembering the additional context for the word. “Um, when connected to Ratri’s systems… to the ship’s system, it has great operating power on itself. Anyway, I can record things as I see them to the further analysis and I can have visual information here – she pointed at her eye.”

“It is also blue,” Miko noticed.

Sari nodded.

“Oh. Yes. This is an effect of using a blank, uncolored lens. When activated, it has this blue shimmer. What?” she asked because Miko was just blinking.

“The other Sari had blue eyes.”

“Well. I hope you don’t mind it?”

“No. It is just… well...”

“I know,” she squeezed Miko’s hand. “It is all right, love.”

They thanked Veiora, but the next few days Sari needed to stay on the station to see if there weren’t any visible problems with the implant. Miko was getting more and more bored and impatient, but she did her best as if she wanted to prove herself to Sari.

She didn’t have to prove anything and Sari wanted to tell her that, but would it help? Sari could had told her that over and over again – and Miko still needed time to get over her own guilt.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure, who Ratri was when I started to write the story, but since Slipstream was not included in the 2005 IDW continuity...


	16. Chapter 16

The planet wasn’t anything out of ordinary – from the human perspective, at least. Its atmosphere was “not recommended to breathe” for most organic species. It had too little oxygen, too much argon, and carbon dioxide. A human being would survive in it for a short time, but the long term exposure would have bad consequences. The information on the resources was incomplete. Ratri got the specs from Cybertronian archives, so there was information on possible energon deposits, but it was inconclusive.

In the past, in a nearby asteroid field, the Cybertronians had another facility, a mining colony, that was mentioned by Veiora. It seemed, however, that all the resources available there were consumed either before the war or at the beginning of it. When Cybertronians returned to the system, they focused on the planet and ignored the asteroids this time.

But the colony existed for two years now, so probably the colonists had found a suitable fuel in the end, or were close to it.

They had found something else, however. Or rather, it had found them.

There were several satellites on the orbit, but not large scale planetary defense, that would stop the travelers from landing. Yet they decided they are going to contact the colonists first. It was safer, from all of them. It was also simply polite.

The mech who answered was large and heavily armored, what indicated their (probably his?) origin from this universe. There was something odd about his eyes and the shade of the plating. Both were dim – the paint on the armor was not grayed out, as it happened with dead Cybertronians, but was far too matte for it to be healthy. The eyes were, too, not as bright as both women were used to.

Disease, Miko thought. The reason Ratchet came here.

What does this disease affect? Is it dangerous for Ratri?

“Hi, my name is Nakadai Miko, this is Sari Sumdac. Our ship is… Ratri,” she hesitated for a moment, but introducing the third of them with her Cybertronian name would be confusing and would demand further explanations. “We are here looking for Ratchet and we need to know if it is safe for us to land.”

The mech blinked with surprise, then introduced himself. A red badge, as dim, like the rest of his colors, flashed when he moved.

“The disease is probably not dangerous for the organics,” he said.

“I don’t expect it to be,” Sari answered him. “My concern is that our ship is… well, probably not alive by your standards, but it has an AI and is a complex mechanism. I’m sorry if this is offensive to you, I have no idea, how Cybertronian diseases affect other mechanisms, if at all.”

Logically, this should be analogous to the transfer of viruses between humans and animals, but even this would mean “depends on the disease.”

“The disease attacks fuel lines,” the mech answered. “It infects energon, I have no idea if the other kinds of fuel can be affected.”

All the fuel was converted into energon inside Cybertronian body: engineering that couldn’t be really replicated, that, by what Miko knew – and what Sari could confirm – was not achieved by humans or other organic races. Converting fuel into energon was just something Cybertronians could do – and although they invented some methods to achieve it artificially, they still were to complex to be payable.

“We should be safe,” Sari said.

The ship’s personality, probably more Slipstream than Ratri now, hissed.

“I won’t feel safe,” she said.

“It is not dangerous to you, dear,” Sari calmed her.

Ratri was changing more and more since the revelation. Sometimes she behaved as her “former” self, the Ratri that was created as a spaceship for two foolish girls venturing on an adventure. Sometimes, her voice changed, becoming deeper, harsher, with shrill notes. The difference between Ratri and Slipstream blurred, and even though she was saying she was not going to be “fully” the Slipstream-that-was, Sari was worried sometimes and she was worried a little too much to Miko’s opinion.

But she was entitled to be worried.

As Ratri – Slipstream – was to be afraid of the disease.

They landed on the outskirts of a… probably town. Large for human scale, of course, but small, when you remembered Iacon – and not that elaborate. It had lots in common with the images of the container towns from the science-fiction art on Earth, only it was bigger.

It was also terribly empty.

A ghost town.

The mech who allowed their landing informed them, that the colonist isolated themselves in order not to spread the disease, which was not very successful, because it was something here, on the planet, that caused it. The energon deposits, if they found it, or some other local fuel, Miko thought, sadly. Probably the mech who invited them knew already. Probably Ratchet got the same idea. Maybe it was not that, but something else.

But in the end, it turned the town into a sad, empty shell.

No one appeared to greet the guests. They received the location of the infirmary and lab where Ratchet was working and was asked to go alone.

This also influenced the impression of the planet being terribly empty, gray and bleak.

There was no local vegetation. There was a body of water in the east, but if anything lived there? Probably nothing. No pretty crystals, as if the colonists didn’t even have time to plant them.

The infirmary and laboratory was another container. The entrance and access panel was situated high, of course. How the minibots deal with this shit, Miko thought, and is it a form of discrimination?

She had an armor to use for this.

They waited a longer while, before the door was opened.

The mech, who let them in looked down.

He was white and gray, with red details and an elegant helmet adorned with sharp elements. His alt mode, Miko estimated, must have been some kind of a streamline, fast car, if she learned to judge correctly from the shape of the plating, the chest, the placement of the wheels.

He had a pretty face, by human standards as well, and there was red paint under his eyes, a pattern not unlike this on Windblade’s face. The same cultural meaning, maybe? Miko recalled a similar pattern used to camouflage Optimus on _Echo_.

His plating was still bright and shiny, which meant he wasn’t affected by the disease: or maybe he was healed.

“This is surprising,” the mech said.

“You were not informed? Hi, I’m Miko. We are looking for Ratchet.”

The mech was surprised, obviously. What would two humans want from the famous Cybertronian medic, during an epidemy?

“He is busy right now.”

“We will wait. Um, could you tell him, that I met a friend of his, who had his back taken apart?” she hoped it will work.

The mech’s eyes went wide and bright.

“Come in,” he said. “My name is Drift. I’m Ratchet’s conjunx endura. Come in. He is occupied, of course, and it will be hard for him to find time for you, but he needs to stop working sometimes.”

“Is there anything we could help with?” Sari asked.

Miko noticed her new eye moving intensely around, but mostly focusing on Drift.

She was trying to catch and analyze his EM field.

“I don’t think so, but you can ask Ratchet himself.”

They followed Drift through the silent building. The Cybertronians usually made lots of noises, with their machinery in constant movement, but now there was only some kind of silent humming present in the building – and, of course, Drift’s footsteps.

There was a room on their way, and Miko saw a mech lying inside, their plating dangerously grayish, a cable connecting them to some kind of a device. Miko stopped to look at this. Drift just shook his head.

“We are working on it. Well, Ratchet is. I’m doing what I can, but...”

This “but” was sad.

“How is it progressing?” Sari dared to ask.

“Slow. The disease is slow too, but he is on his own at the moment.”

“Sounds bad.”

“It is. It is not without hope though.”

Miko shook her head.

“I’m not sure if we should have come here...”

Well, it was too late, especially considering what happened on the way: and Slipstream deserved her chance.

They didn’t wait for a very long time, when the other mech appeared, white and red as the ones they met in the clinic.

“Well, now I have time for you, Drift,” he said. Then he looked down at both the humans. “What?” he asked simply, visibly surprised.

Not that his voice is very pleasant, Miko thought. It could have been, but he seemed annoyed and tired. A workaholic, if she understood well. Overworked, for sure. Not the only medic on the planet, but the one with most knowledge and experience.

Optimus’ friend, she thought, smiling.

She remembered ‘Segun, when she still believed ‘Segun existed, telling her that one of his best friends got married and that he never had the opportunity to really know his husband. From Optimus told her then – it was not much, they didn’t really had the opportunity to talk – he really valued Ratchet, as a friend, not only as professional. She remembered telling Optimus “go, visit this friend of yours”. She hoped it happened: but when she mentioned someone with a back taken apart, Drift recognized it immediately and he didn’t even ask how a human knows it.

They must have trusted each other. Well, they were married – they were “conjunx endura” to use the Cybertronian term. Those things usually require trust to work.

And it probably worked, because Miko noticed Drift stroking his husband’s hand casually.

“You should rest,” he said. “Sit down. I get you some fuel. Those humans want to talk to you.”

Ratchet sighed, then indeed sat down. He looked tired, and wasn’t his plating a little pale?

“Well?” he asked.

He might have been tired, but he looked at his guests not without certain interest. Especially at Sari’s blue mechanical eye. What did he saw in her? How did he saw beings like her?

Sari was smilling like it was an instinct face to put when looking at him, and Miko realized something. She must have met him… the other Sari must had, and so did the other Miko.

That is why I decided it must be him. That is why we wanted to find him. That is why we believe he can help.

“I’m happy to meet you finally,” she said. “We were looking for you on Cybertron, but you weren’t there. I am Nakadai Miko, and...” she looked around. Drift wasn’t here at the moment, but even if he was, he probably knew everything anyway. “I met Optimus, not so long ago. On the Citrix station.”

Ratchet smiled. This was a tired smile, but a genuine one.

“He mentioned you,” he said.

“He went to meet you!” Miko exclaimed relieved. “Good. He needed it so much. Do you know how is he doing? You are the only person I can ask!”

“He is doing well.”

“I’m so happy to hear that. He needed help… but I think you know it already.”

“You helped him,” Ratchet said.

“I just noticed some odd things that apparently turned to be right… and, when you return from the dead to the world that doesn’t need you anymore, it must be hard.”

And from what I understand, you both tend to take your duties seriously, she thought, sometimes more serious than it is needed, too serious for your own good.

Ratchet snorted.

“The stubborn idiot probably would avoid me if you didn’t give him a push. You did well, Miko.”

“Good… may I also ask, if you know… what about...”

“Oh, the other stubborn idiot? He is doing well too. They didn’t kill each other, this is progress.”

“They are together, Ratchet,” Drift said, entering the room. “And from what I know they intend to keep it this way? And I remember you telling Optimus that he should try it. Here you are, sweetspark,” he said, giving his husband a cube filled with glowing fluid.

Ratchet made an embarrassed noise at “sweetspark” and Sari chuckled.

“But you are not here to ask about Optimus. Or the other idiot,” Ratchet guessed.

He is avoiding Megatron’s name, Miko noticed. Even surrounded by people who already know.

“No,” Sari answered. “We have a problem and we decided we trust you enough to seek help from you.”

Ratchet’s eyes widened.

“Then I hope I really am the person you are looking for.”

“If not you, then we hope you will tell us where we should go. We went all the way for it, and it is serious,” Sari sighted. “It is about our ship.”

She told the story and both the mecha were sitting there, listening with both fascination and horror.

“Humans,” Ratchet said at the end, displeased.

“We are horrible, I know,” Miko agreed.

“Not all of you, and we are not the ones to judge you as a race. And you two did even more than was necessary.”

“We did it for someone we care about,” Sari said.

“Then I hope Slipstream cares for you as well. Will I be able to talk to him?”

“Her” Sari corrected, “And I think yes. So you are going to help?”

“I can run some diagnostics to determine the state of the spark and to see what can be recovered. What then… this is much more complicated and I definitely can’t do anything here and at the moment.”

“We understand. We don’t expect you to do anything right now. We will go back to Cybertron in this case...”

“This can take time,” Ratchet warned. “I’m alone here. The mech who was helping me is in bad condition at the moment. Drift is helping, but he has not enough expertise… Unless…” he squinted his eyes looking down at both humans.

“Unless what?” Miko asked.

Ratchet shook his head.

“Let’s see your ship,” he said. “And I will tell you later.”

This is, Miko thought, a bad, bad sign.

***

Ratri – or Slipstream, because the person inside the ship was using the harsher tone right now – was nervous. She tried to hide it with sarcasm, but Sari knew her too well already – surprising, how knowing Ratri translated to knowing Slipstream. More than she expected, definitely – and noticed.

Well, this was, excluding the situation with Blackout, the first time since her death, when Slipstream had real opportunity to speak with someone of her kind. And, to make things more complicated, with an Autobot.

“So, you are Slipstream?” Ratchet asked. “Or were? A Seeker?”

“And you are the Hatchet.”

The Autobot medic smirked.

“Some of your circuits work better than your humans expect. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. Listen, everything I can do now is to perform diagnostic on your spark. See its state. I was informed, that there were problems before when the humans checked it, so I need your consent so nobody got hurt. Especially not those two humans, because they care about you. And they need to go inside and connect this,” he showed everyone a thick, heavy cable “To the spark casing. Frag, I don’t even know if you have a spark casing.”

“How does spark casing look like?” Sari asked. “We had no opportunity to see the spark up close.”

She decided, she was the one to crawl inside and reach for the blue pulsing thing. No other way to do it. This was her responsibility and task.

“Just plug it into what the spark is in. It needs to be encased in something, otherwise, it has no connection with anything.

“What if the plugs don’t work?”

“Then we will think of what next and how to create an adapter. But I rather expect the idiot humans to either keep the casing or duplicate it. Well, Slipstream?”

“Do I have any choice?” there was something aggressive in the ship’s voice.

Well, a Decepticon. What could she expect?

“You can say “no” and remind as you are. I’m in no position to force it on you.”

“I trust Sari,” the voice was now softer. “I will trust you. I am deeply sorry, but it seems that I have some deep coding that made me react like this. And I am afraid.

“You have all the rights to be,” Ratchet agreed. “I had many traumatized patients before. I treated mecha that were tortured and mutilated. You are not the first one, but I must admit you are the first who ended like this. You are lucky to have someone who cares about you and whom you can trust.”

Sari took the cable. Her hands shook, as she was detaching the panel covering insides of the computer. Now the design of what was inside, the empty space, the twisted cables, the blue light blinking – now it made more sense.

The new eye was noticing details she didn’t saw before, subtle differences in the material and design of the cabling and other elements. This was not human design, not entirely human design at least. Reused or duplicated parts. Composition of some of the materials slightly different than the others.

Deep inside the familiar blue light was blinking and Sari thought, how weird it was, to touch the heart, the soul of someone you loved. How intimate it must have been.

The mechanical eye noted the energy signature and the data was saved for later analysis. For now, Sari crawled inside.

“It is all right, my sweet,” she said. “Sweetspark,” she added, mimicking what she heard from Drift. “It is all right. We are doing it so you could be better.”

The blue light was indeed encased in some kind of a box. Some parts of it were Cybertronian, she already recognized the weird elegance of the design, but parts were added, more crude, fused with the previous ones, but not perfectly.

There were several ports on the case, some definitely human-made, some remaining from the Slipstream’s old frame. There were adapters attached to some of them, allowing to connect the spark with the ship, but Sari found one that was empty.

She stroked the casing. The blue light blinked between her fingers.

“I’m with you, my sweetspark. It will be all right.”

“I know,” Ratri-Slipstream told her. “I trust you.”

Sari plugged the cable in and waited, subconsciously expecting another catastrophe. Nothing like this happened.

“How do you feel?” Sari asked.

“This is not comfortable, but I can endure it.”

“Do you want me to stay here?”

“Go out. See what the Hatchet is seeing.”

“All right,” Sari agreed and started to crawl back. “Why “the Hatchet”?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe because he was a soldier as well and killed many of our mecha? Maybe because he was not pleasant for his patients… This is just… a small thing inside me. Fragment of what I used to know.”

“Well, we will see how much of it still exists.”

She crawled back out. Meanwhile, Ratchet activated his diagnostic equipment and he was looking at the screen. The hand on his chin was a gesture recognizable for a human. His field was much more interesting. The drive connected to the eye implant was soaking with data.

“This is interesting,” Ratchet said.

He was focused entirely on the screen, so it was up to Drift to pick Sari up so that she could see what is going on. Miko was already sitting on the edge of the device.

“See that?” Ratchet asked. There were multiple readings and charts and they were described in glyphs and other kind of writing. The translation modules, that Sari already had downloaded into the eye implant gave incomplete translation. “This indicates there was massive damage to the spark. Spark chamber probably shattered and collapsed. Slipstream was very, very fortunate, to survive this. Well, technically speaking, she didn’t survive that, so, this is another thing. It seems the spark was as close to dead as possible and then got a boost of energy – quite recently. This reanimated it.”

“She killed a mech,” Sari said. “Consumed his spark.”

“This in unusual, but explains some things,” Ratchet shook his head. “It is possible to transfer energy from one spark to another and I’ve seen it done several times, the last time the procedure was a non-standard one… but not as non-standard as this one. The mech Slipstream killed must have the same spark type and frequency as her. She was fortunate.”

“Can she be… recovered?” Sari asked.

“I’m guessing there must be also some parts of her brain module build inside, without it the memories she recovered wouldn’t be there. If the brain module and the spark still exist, then yes, recovery is possible. This won’t be easy though,” He looked down, towards Miko. “And definitely not something I can do here and now, not with the tools I have. She needs a new body built. Unfortunately, this might be costly. Depends on who will do this...”

“I’ve heard how much did Starscream paid for his new shiny frame,” Drift said. “And Starscream was more dead than Slipstream here.”

A displeased snort sounded from the ship.

“I’m not Starscream, thank you. I don’t need to be pretty and shiny.”

“Oh, but you used to be a Seeker?” Drift asked. He looked towards the ship as if he expected to see another mech here.

He behaved differently than the other Cybertronians who had seen Ratri before – even Shatter tended to ignore her.

“If you are going to say all Seekers are vain...”

“No. I’ve met enough of you to know that you are not.”

“Do I know you?”

“I don’t remember you. I met several Seekers, but you were not whom I was hanging with. But I used to be a Decepticon as well. I was going by Deadlock then.”

“I don’t know if I met you, I’m sorry.”

Sari was watching Ratchet still analyzing the charts on the screen.

“So this is all for now?” she asked. “I’m sorry we interrupted your work. It looks bad here.”

“Oh, it is that I am alone. And Drift is right if he says I’m tired.”

“Is there anything we could help you with?” Sari asked. “You did a lot for us.”

He looked at her and the mechanisms inside his eyes moved – Sari decided it is always a fascinating view.

“Here you personally, you don’t,” he said. “But as I mentioned before, I have an idea. There is a person with some degree of medical training and he is staying very close right now. But they had communication issues, co I’d need someone to go there. You could do that for me.”

***

“Tell me why I agreed to this?” Miko said, covering her face with her hands. “Damn, I don’t want to.”

“You are panicking, love,” Sari answered. “And you agreed to do this because this was the best thing that could be done.

Several hours ago Ratchet told them that he needs help and then he suggest where the help could be found.

“Since it is you and you know certain things,” he said “And since it happened that the people we discussed before live not very far away from here… and since one of them has some rudimentary medical training… not that this is very impressive, but it is all I can get at the moment, it should be enough until I think of something else. I already promised Optimus a visit, and knowing Megatron… well, he will use this opportunity to prove his good intentions.”

Miko whined and she was whining this few hours ago as they were back inside Ratri, going to the asteroid belt.

It seemed that the mecha of the colony were aware of two other Cybertronians occupying the old base inside one of the asteroids. They didn’t ask questions, because it was too common that after the war some mecha chose solitude. The two didn’t visit the colony except for one brief time and usually avoided any other forms of contact, and there were just too many disturbances in the asteroid field to send a proper message at the moment, so using Miko and Sari as messengers was convenient.

It was not convinient to Miko.

“You want to see Optimus,” Sari said.

She guessed right, despite it was not something Miko used to mention. But it was obvious, wasn’t it? A part of Miko rejoiced. A part was… well, already embarrassed.

“I don’t want to see Megatron, and somehow since the beginning, all the quests I am given are connected to him!” she exclaimed. “Damn. There are very, very little people who would like to see him, and there are good reasons for that, but, I promised him to kill him if you remember correctly.”

“You promised to kill him if it was needed if I remember correctly. And by “needed” I think you minded “if he tries to start another war”, which he hasn’t by far. I also recall one really charming thank you note.”

Sari giggled. Miko whined again, completely embarrassed.

“Far too charming,” she muttered.

“You are doing this on purpose, Sari,” Ratri/Slipstream stated.

“I’m trying to cheer Miko up.”

“The effect is contrary to what you planned,” the answer was, but the voice sounded amused.

“I hate you,” Miko said. “I hate you deeply and passionately. And you, you, Slipstream, you should be worried, why aren’t you worried? This is Megatron we are talking about.”

“I have nothing against him. He has nothing against me. I might have talked to him… once? There is something very blurred and distant. He probably doesn’t even remember the names of most of the Seekers, except maybe Starscream… as for the Prime… I recall the objective to kill him once we have an opportunity, but don’t feel any personal emotional attachment to this...”

“What about the Decepticon cause?” Miko asked.

This was a proper distraction from being embarrassed as… as fuck.

She was going to either get rid of this embarrassment or just get used to it because it was not going to get any better.

“I...” There was a long moment of silence. “There are things I remember. I’ve been keeping recovering them and I think I can reconstruct most of my life. Not the details, of course, and I think most of the details are lost. I’m not even sure if the others of my kind are able to store every detail of their past, or not. If there was something that would store it, then, well… it is lost.”

“You can tell us the rest,” Miko suggested.

“If you want to.”

***

“I was constructed cold. You don’t know what that is, right? Let me explain you. Normally, the sparks generate spontaneously, with the help of Vector Sigma. This is a natural occurrence and the sentio metallico appears around the newspark. They turn into a protoform, that grows into an adult mech. We became adults only few weeks after we are born. This is called “forging”.

But some of the Cybertronian scientists invented a way to create an artificial spark. I’m not sure how artificial it really was, since all the cold constructed mecha have the same feelings and intellect and ambition than the forged ones. Maybe Primus just allowed the scientists to create news souls? But then, those who invented cold construction didn’t want citizens. They wanted slaves, obedient, mass-produced drones, with bodies designed and shaped for special purposes. The Seekers were created as warframes. Oh, there were some forged seekers as well, but most of us were cold constructed. I was like this. So was my Trine. Starscream is cold constructed as well.

Before the war, our planet had serious problems. What happened then was not an accident – it was bound to happen. The last Primes were corrupt, power-hungry individuals, with Nominus, Sentinel and then Zeta being the most horrible of all. The senate was not better – and then there was Functionism. The Functionists believed, every mecha has a task given by Primus, a purpose, a function that was the mech’s alt mode. Maybe it wouldn’t be bad… but they considered some alt modes to be lesser than the others. And they were among those, who believed cold constructed mecha to be nothing more than drones. Obviously, no Seeker would support them, and even Starscream, who despite his origin become senator, had enough decency to avoid dealing with them. But, no matter how horrible they sound, they had support from many of the citizens, who were deceived to believe that Functionism will find solutions for other problems our society had. It had not, we were loosing resources rapidly, and we needed expansion which would mean conflict. We were never a particularly nice species, but I have enough information on humans to know, neither were you. But Functionism was a useful tool for many politicians – and Functionist council was growing stronger. Lower castes were growing more and more uneasy… I think you know what happened next: revolution, civil war. No one expected it to last four million years. It just… escalated.

It was not that I was in the middle of it. There were many seekers, as I mentioned, and most of us followed Starscream, because he was always good as promises, and for many of us he was a shiny example. Well, his armor was usually very shiny too, which added to his image. And I might be bitter about many, many things Starscream did, but his decisions were not always bad and his promises were not always void. And, he chose the side we believed was the right one. I still believe it was the right side, despite everything went astray then. But it is difficult to keep your hands clean when you participate in a revolution and then a war.

It makes it easier, that you understand us a little, that you made friends with some of the Decepticons, Miko. When you told me of what happened to you I had no feelings, no opinion on it. Now… part of me tries to understand what happened because Slipstream… I was killed before the war ended. I have access to the database and I try to understand what happened to Megatron… but maybe I need to look from another perspective: that he was right at the beginning and that he was right at the end, and the middle was, well, a long nightmare for all of us. Some of them just woke up.

I don’t know. For me, Megatron was a… I met him twice, maybe? Never talked to him. I listened to many, many of his speeches, I read _Towards Peace_ at the beginning of the revolution and I don’t think I understood much? But it was easy to follow someone, who was offering an alternative, who was a lot like me – most miners were cold constructed, who was speaking the truth. I remember when he came to see us, the troops Starscream was offering to him. I remember Starscream following him with this shine in his eyes and on his plating and I think at least half of us knew at the moment Starscream wants not only political power at the moment. I remember myself wondering, what is Starscream’s trine thinking of it, but I learned over the years that every trine had its own dynamic, every trine is different. I was close with my trine, apparently. Or at least I felt this way? But we shared almost everything with each other.

Before, when I still didn’t remember my past, I told you, Sari, that I need synchronization: this is what Seeker trines do. We were wired to work as the teams of three, to perform complicated maneuvers and strategies, and to make it easier we synchronized our software regularly. But as you can probably imagine, as you experienced yourself – this is an intimate act. Can it be compared to the human sex act? Yes and now. The physical interfacing equipment is close to human sexual organs and interfacing using this equipment is also very similar to what you do. But this is not the only way to achieve closeness and pleasure. The easiest one, yes, and the safest one too, because we don’t reproduce this way. Hardlining is the other thing. It has multiple purposes, like sharing software and information, but can also give us pleasure… It is dangerous because it can be used against one of the partners: viruses, malware, reprogramming, stealing information… that is why when you tried to reach for me, Sari, I felt this way… hardlining demands trust, and I had been violated before. I was in no position to give you my consent. That this part of me that was Ratri gave it, that you didn’t have an idea what is happening: this helped me to slowly understand. But hardlining demands trust, and even if pleasure is not the purpose of the act, it is intimate in many ways. This is how trines work: we did it multiple times and each time was bringing us closer.

I know those are not only Seekers who are synchronizing this way and not only Seekers use the word “trine”, but for as it is something special. It makes us who we are. It was the basis of our entire society, of our military structure. It was the basis of our social life. Of what we were. I was constructed cold, which meant I had a proper software setup from the beginning. Some of us were trined before they awoke: this was the case of Acid Storm and his trine. Starscream was not, he found two forged Seekers for himself. I had Blackout and Redwing. I loved them. Thye loved me – at least to a certain point. Something of it is still inside me and I think it is still inside Blackout, since his reaction to my voice was very emotional.

I… No, I was not the kindest or most empathetic person. Most of the kindness I have inside me right now is what Ratri developed. How she was programmed… How was programmed… it is amazing. It worked: she developed, I developed. I cannot reject it. I don’t want to. It is part of me now. But the person I was in the past was terrible sometimes. And so good in lying to himself… herself. It is for the cause, we need to make sacrifices, the enemy doesn’t deserve our mercy, the aliens are not sentient in the way we are: useful lies, when you are at war when you are fighting when you need to internalize some things, when you want to remain loyal to your people and to your leaders and when you are afraid – because at some point fear appeared among us and it had many faces. The Decepticon Justice Division was the worst, but there were other monsters too, power-hungry, mad, and cruel. I told you, we were living a nightmare, but at the same time, we were the nightmare as well. And we learned to believe, they were necessary evils. That one day, when we win, when the galaxy will be ours… One day.

We, Seekers, didn’t have it bad. Whatever can be said about Starscream, he was not the worst commander we could have. He made multiple mistakes and he was a power-hungry, treacherous glitch, but he treated his subordinates well. He was not cruel, he didn’t have the habit of exercising his anger on his mecha. He was rather protecting us from the wrath of the others. It seems weird, considering the fact he left me to die in the end, but this was not the worst thing among us. So we didn’t have any reason to defect. Why would we? It was not bad and we were right, and, after all, the Autobots were not really much better than us. At some point, I think, most of us, on both sides, either committed war crimes or turned a blind eye to them. Fortress Maximus, whom you met? Oh, I learned to fear his name. Prowl was widely known for being a calculating mastermind, who had no reservations to sacrifice even the ones closest to him if he believed it would bring him closer to his goals. And they were not the only ones here. In the end, what you, Miko told me of our leaders, of in which position they ended up… this is an irony, but also it should be a sign of hope, that we are able to find something good after all those horrible things we had done to each other. So, yes. This was the situation.

I was… not the worst of the monsters, I think. But when we went to Earth I had no regard to the local lifeforms. Why would I? No one told me you were sentient. You don’t have sparks, right? And you live, how long? One hundred years, at best. This is nothing. You were not important and the Autobots made a mistake when they decided to protect you. This was going to destroy them, to end the war once and for all and Earth would be ours.

As you well know, it had ended in a different way. But I didn’t live to see the end of the war.

At the time I died the war didn’t go well for us. Megatron was not seen for some time now, Starscream made some very bad decisions – although I’m not sure, if he knew what the outcome will be. Not as many Decepticons listened to him, as he would like. From what I can see now this was always our weakness: too many wanting to take the lead without real skills to do this. Starscream was not the worst, but too many others hated him to submit to his leadership. Soundwave? You have met him, Miko. He is competent, but he lacks charisma. For the others – they usually were too occupied with their own agenda or with introducing mayhem, to really achieve something. So the little team Starscream had – us among them – were left to themselves.

And, as I said: mistakes were made.

I don’t know, what really happened. Was it misinformation, miscalculation, treason? I’m no strategist and I never managed to learn details. But we were ambushed and it turned out the battle was harder than we expected.

I was separated from Blackout. Redwing was already dead by then, and we were incomplete, a broken Trine. We used to act as one unit before, but after Redwing’s death synchronizing was painful and we hated doing it, so we did it less and less until our bond weakened. We were out of synch and we were… We were not close anymore. I felt alone, and I believe Blackout did too. That day I wasn’t with him, he wasn’t with me and maybe this also was part of what killed me… but in the end, it was one of the Autobots, of course.

I knew who he was. We learned – well, fear him was not the right word, but watch out for him is a good word. His name is – was? I don’t know if he is still alive… so many of us died since the war ended, since my death – he was named Jazz. He was a special agent, an assassin, cold, and ruthless when needed. We heard he was not always like that, but, well war changed us all. So it was his blow that made me fall and the rest is history.

I have no idea what happened to him after. I don’t care. I have no idea now if it was possible to save my life then. I believed it was if only they took me if they didn’t leave me… but maybe, form the strategical point of view back then this was the best solution? Maybe there were no resources to save me. I don’t know. Then… then I was dying feeling betrayed and thinking all the worst things about everyone around. I died in anger and hatred. What happened to me after didn’t make it better.

I remember… glimpses. My knowledge of Ratri’s programming makes it possible to reconstruct what had been done to me. This knowledge doesn’t help. As I said: hardlining without consent is rape. My body was dead. My spark was barely alive.

The humans needed to preserve both my spark and brain module, or at least the core processor because without that I wouldn’t be able to reconstruct all of this. I am no medic, but I was a soldier, and I was pre-programmed to kill, so I know: disconnecting the spark from the brain kills us. The last thing is what Ratchet is going to prove once we are back.

So, this is how it ends: I’m here and I think I might be a little nervous. But we are already reaching our destination.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The author is struggling with a crisis right now. Leave something nice for her?


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I make a MegOP cameo? Yes.

The asteroid belt consisted, as usual for such places, of several larger and multiple smaller objects. As Ratri approached it, they saw the visible signs that the belt had being used in the past as a mining site. Some equipment was still visible, buried halfway, and abandoned when the mining stopped.

The large asteroid hosted once the quarters of the administration of the mines and the dormitories – or however, it was called – of the miners. Now it was someone’s home.

It must have been a harsh place in the past, Sari thought. The long-range communication with the rest of the system and the rest of the universe limited and periodically impossible, and other environmental hazards, she was not fully aware of. This was a Cybertronian outpost, from before the war. Interesting, that those who had chosen it back then, had also ignored the planet completely… But there was no information available why.

The former living quarters were the only alight point in the darkness, the lights blinking in the distance. Miko was looking at the screen with her hands squeezed into fists, nervous again.

“This is not a big deal,” she said. “And nothing bad is going to happen. And I am a grown-up woman and I’ve faced much more scary things and we had already met and we both went out of it alive.”

“That’s it, love,” Sari agreed.

“We are in communication range,” Ratri informed.

It was almost purely Ratri this time, calm and reserved.

“Well, then call them,” Miko said.

There was a short period of waiting, and then a voice answered.

“Yes?”

Sari couldn’t be sure, to whom the voice belonged. Miko was sure. Sari saw her going blank suddenly, her whole body getting tense.

“Shit,” Miko spat. “It’s him!”

And she lost all her calm and flew from the bridge.

“Miko!” Sari shouted after her.

Come on, Miko was the one to do that, she said, she is going to and that there was no need to panic, and now she panicked. It was not fair at all and it left Sari alone without any backup, with Megatron on the other side of the commline.

“Hello?” asked the voice on the other side, a little impatient, a little harsh, a little…

Of course, it was the power of suggestion, because Sari’s mind was now imagining all the worst possible outcomes.

Damn you, Miko.

“Ummm… Hello…?”

“Who is that?” The voice on the other side asked again.

Sari felt the way a mechanoid or an AI must have felt while experiencing a BSOD. She suddenly felt her mind going blank. The worst was, that she wouldn’t behave that way if Miko didn’t panic.

“Slipstream, help!” she whined. “Say something. Be a good Decepticon!”

“I’m not a good Decepticon!” Ratri/Slipstream (still more Ratri, judging from the tone) protested.

“Excuse me, but what is happening there? Who am I speaking to?”

This voice sounded like it was used to giving commands and threats. It was probably also a voice good at reciting poetry, but this association was now far, far away from Sari’s thoughts.

“I’m Sari Sumdac and I know who you are,” Sari said quickly. Damn. This was bad, but both people who could help her apparently deserted. “Listen. This sounds bad, I know. The point is, that Ratchet sends us. He needs your help. Miko should have spoken to you, but she… Ummm… She liked the poem, by the way.”

“No, I didn’t!” Miko screamed form where she was failing to hide from her own embarrassment.

“She definitely did. Could we… Ummm… Get inside?” Without being killed, part of her mind desperately wanted to add. “I’d love to prove we are...” she almost said “friends”. Almost. “That we are not working for the Galactic Council, or...”

This was going quite well, she decided. Because Megatron was apparently listening.

“You have the permission,” he said after a moment.

“Thank you.”

As Ratri was setting curse on the asteroid, Sari stormed the bedroom, where Miko was covering her head with a pillow. Sari put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

“Miko.”

“Go away.”

“Miko, don’t pull a tsundere.”

“I’m not pulling a tsundere, go the fuck away.”

Sari sat beside her lover, trying to drag the pillow away, but Miko was stronger.

“Love. Please. Behave.”

Miko let out a very displeased noise.

“I want the ground to swallow me.”

“Too bad, that the nearest place you can call ground is on the asteroid where we are going now. There is no turning back, sweetheart.”

“I can remain on the ship.”

“You can,” Sari agreed. “And then you will regret it.”

“Have you at least told him I’m not here to kill him?”

“I think he knows that.”

“You don’t know that! He can shoot me once he sees me!”

“He won’t do this.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I don’t know,” Sari agreed “But you do. Come on.”

Miko sighed and sat up.

“Why it is so complicated?”

Oh. Why do you have a kind of a crush on a villain you tried to kill, you mean? Sari wanted to ask, but she did not. Better spare Miko even worse embarrassment.

“Because it is. Because the universe is complicated and the people are complicated and you are in a position you didn’t expect to be in, because part of you is still afraid, that you had made a wrong choice and seeks some way out. I can understand you but come one. You usually are good in facing your fears.”

“We are approaching the landing place inside the asteroid,” Ratri informed.

Then they fell a light bump when the ship landed. 

“The atmosphere outside breathable for the human beings,” Ratri said. “No microorganisms or organic substances. The gravity is lower, than normal, using magnetic boots advised, but not necessary.”

“Breathable atmosphere...” Sari said. “Good environmental control.”

“In case inviting an organic inside would be necessary,” Miko said, fastening the boots. Sari saw her throwing a longing glance towards the armor. “Better than the cupboard.”

“I don’t think they really expected to have organic guests.”

“And here we are,” Miko sighed. “You are not allowing me to stay inside, aren’t you?”

“Nope. Come on.”

There were to mecha outside and both of them looked… well, definitely not like on the footage, despite the overall familiar shapes.

Sari took a deep breath and literally dragged Miko out of the ship.

Don’t think now, Sari, don’t lose your mind and the words, you are better than this and someone needs to be the responsible person here.

“Hello. I’m Sari Sumdac and I’m really honored to meet you. Both of you, in fact. I’m terribly sorry for Miko. She had...” she started, but this was apparently the last straw for Miko.

Miko freed herself from Sari’s grasp, nervously straightened her t-shirt, and smiled – also nervously.

“Hi. I’m sorry. I didn’t expect to…”

One of the mecha – it was, it had to be, Optimus – kneeled in front of them. Megatron remained standing. Damn, he was large even now and even if he probably didn’t have many of the armor elements anymore, his shadow was intimidating.

“Miko,” Optimus smiled. “I didn’t expect to meet you again either.”

His voice was… there was something in his voice that just made you feel safe.

Sari noticed Miko’s smile soften, her tense face relaxing again.

“I hope we didn’t scare you.”

“You made me worry, a little.”

“It was me panicking. Because I was… Because I know this is a risk to contact you and that the arrangement was different. But Ratchet asked us, so here we are.”

Over this reunion, Sari saw Megatron’s eyes. They are golden, she realized. Not red, but in a deep, amber color. Wise choice, she thought. Looked odd against mostly dark, almost black plating, like Megatron was stubborn in his choice of shape and color. There were details that made him different from what Sari once saw – probably every human on Earth saw a picture of Megatron at least once in his life – and many details that still would make you think. A mech similar, but Sari was aware already, that many Cybertornians shared frameshapes, that some were mass-produced, and she guessed there must have been many Megatron-shaped mecha out there. They must had have hard times.

She tried not to stare, still remembering that there was never a hundred percent chance of surviving an encounter with Megatron.

She noticed another pair of eyes, blue this time, shifting to her now – calm and curious. She felt good with those eyes looking at her. She smiled.

“What brings you here?” Optimus asked.

Meanwhile, Megatron looked towards the ship suspiciously.

“There was a third person with you?” he asked

This was a very valid question since every new person learning of the former leaders’ whereabouts meant more threat.

“Well...” Miko said slowly “About that...”

Sari sighed.

Technically speaking, Ratri was a person. And technically speaking she could tell someone.

She approached Ratri, put a hand on her hull. Explain this, again. Well.

“This is Ratri and this is also Slipstream. She was… I take the full responsibility for this” Sari said, trying not to look away from the amber eyes that once used to be red and most terrible. “She was once a Cybertronian, a Seeker. What happened to her is probably partially my fault and we are searching for the way to help her. Ratchet helped, a little, now we need to go back to Cybertron. We hadn’t planned to visit you. Despite,” she grinned “that Miko was really eager about the possibility.”

“No, I was not,” Miko muttered.

Someone let out a short laugh, Sari was to focus on Miko’s reactions to see, who that was. Miko must have noticed because she suddenly turned her head away.

Fortunately, no one was going to continue the conversation. Both mecha inhabiting the asteroid approached the ship and Sari saw Optimus kneeling down and laying his hand on the hull.

“You are Slipstream, yes?”

His voice was calm and soothing.

“I don’t know,” the personality inside the ship said. “I might be her. Sometimes. And you are...” she said slowly.

“Yes.”

“How should I feel about it?”

“I am not going to tell you.”

“She was not one of your people,” Megatron decided to say. “You are making her even more confused.”

“Yes. Of course. Forgive me.”

The ship let out nervous laughter. Oh great, Sari though, I think I know where she had learned that.

“Not a problem. I have no idea how to behave. I knew where we are going and Miko had told me about it… the situation here. This is not helpful. Several weeks ago I was an artificial intelligence programmed to pilot this ship. Now I am… what I am. I have memories of idolizing one of you and hating the other and those memories are telling me I should act somehow. Only I have no proper body. Everything is confusing to me.”

Both former leaders looked at each other.

“I’d like to talk to her,” Megatron declared. “Alone, if possible. If no one is afraid,” he added and his lips twitched in a menacing smile.

“No, I’m not,” Miko muttered, despite he didn’t even look at her.

As they left, she just banged her hand on the wall.

“I feel like an idiot,” she complained.

Sari put her hand on Miko’s shoulder.

“It’s all right, love, you are not an idiot.”

“I was not afraid of him earlier. When I believed he could kill me. I… I was sitting there behind the glass and I had multiple ideas on how to deal with it. Now my mind is blank, except for this fucking poem! And I don’t even like poetry!”

Which was not sure, Sari thought, the part about not liking poetry. But apparently, Miko needed to convince herself this way.

Sari looked at the mech with them.

Those eyes, she thought, there is something about them, about the way he looks at you, and you cannot help, but wanting to trust him.

She remembered when Miko told her about this and about the parallel universes. Well, it was Miko, who visited the places when universes crossed, but Sari had her own suspicions too, about the “other Sari”.

Miko sighed again.

“I...” she said. “I might actually need some time to get over it. Myself” she corrected herself. “Can I” she looked towards Optimus. At least, Sari thought, she was no escaping him. “take a walk?”

Optimus nodded.

Sari wondered, if Miko is going to really take her time and deal with her own bullshit, or if she wants to find something. Maybe both, she decided.

***

Still embarrassed, Miko took her to stroll.

She cursed herself for not being able to deal with mixed emotions in a more dignified and appropriate way. She was aware, that the only person here, who actually bothered, was Sari and that Sari was worried (and she also was speaking bullshit of “pulling a tsundere” which Miko was not!). This was reassuring.

Still, Miko wanted to take a walk. Sari could explain the situation meanwhile. Catching Optimus for a talk could wait.

The asteroid was pretty large, especially for someone her size, and the layout of rooms and corridors indicated, the facility was much, much bigger than the part two former leaders adapted for their new home. There were multiple corridors reaching out deep in the asteroid, into the mine, probably. They all were sealed off with doors too big and too large for Miko to open even with her armor on.

There were several things inside that she didn’t understand, leftovers of the place’s past. There was a room, not sealed off and not adapted, that was enormous for Miko’s scale and had many, many niches in the walls. They were quite large and had some cables planted inside. Dormitory for the miners? It looked disturbing, no individuality, no place for personal belongings…

She went there and she felt like she is in a haunted place. There were ghosts here.

Then she remembered – these small things in Slipstream’s story. Cold constructed mecha, mass-produced, for performing particular tasks. Treated as second-class citizens, at best. A form of slavery invented by the species who could create their underprivileged minorities with much more precision, than humans ever did.

Megatron was one of them. He was one of the mecha who were considered nothing more than drones, who slept here, who had nothing of their own, who were designed to live here, to work here and then to be decommissioned - murdered, once they weren’t needed anymore.

This put so many things into perspective, and it hurt to realize it.

Was that a place where Megatron spent the beginning of his life or was it another, similar? Did he choose the place for purpose? Had left this old dormitory untouched on purpose, this was something Miko was sure of.

She left. This was enough of discoveries for today. This was someone’s private space, someone’s memory he didn’t expect to share with outsiders, especially not with any humans. Miko intended to respect it.

She returned to the main part of the base, the lit one, the inhabited one.

There was a room open, and she peeked inside it, too curious to stop herself.

The room was large and judging from the remains of some older machinery in the walls, it used to be something else than a living room. But now it was one – and an inhabited one. It had a couch, well, something that looks like one, Miko wasn’t going to check if it was soft in any way (sentio metallico could be perceived as soft by humans, but this was something different). There was a window or a screen, hard to say. There was a table and there were several containers standing there, the cube-shaped one, apparently the default shape for Cybertronians, most of them empty or with a residue of pinkish glow inside. They reminded of forgotten coffee mugs. Empty, ungathered dishes.

There were also many, many datapads, this larger kind, the same Nautica had. They were laying on the desk, on the couch, some of them on the floor. There were two objects resembling a pen, some kind of a stylus for the datapads? Miko saw some of them in Prowl’s office before. Was a pen or stylus used to write glyphs? Was Megatron using them to write poetry? He was writing something, obviously. Poems or something else as well? Miko regretted she couldn’t read glyphs. Maybe, if she scanned them… But she wouldn’t take this risk.

Oh, and there was a little cluster of crystals! Miko almost giggled. Tending to the crystal garden, heh? Well, this was not a crystal garden but a house plant. 

And there was some kind of old mining machinery, inactive and hopefully not someone’s parts, standing in the corner, polished to a high shine, resembling an abstract sculpture. And painting on a wall – Miko recognized the Iaconian skyline.

This was cute. This was a place the two exiled leaders tried to make their home.

“I’ll go with you.” She heard Optimus’ voice.

Damn. Was she again in the wrong place and time? Last time it was the noise behind the door. This time it was just talking.

Hopefully.

Either way, it was her sniffing around, then, and now too.

She backed off, discretely. Not that she was really afraid, but she was a little ashamed of what she had been doing.

Yet she remained in the shadows outside, as loud footsteps banged on the floor and the owners of the house entered the room.

“You heard them. This is risky. The disease seems to be serious.”

“So you want to leave me here?”

The hissing sound: a Cybertronian sigh.

“Slag no. You are not in the state to be alone.” Miko heard Megatron’s voice getting softer. So it was possible. Something moved inside her. Was it joy that this weird relationship really worked, or was it another wave of embarrassment? Or maybe both. “I see how happy you are that you met this human...”

“Her name is Miko. And you know it. You wrote a poem for her.”

Miko almost giggled. This was adorable.

She peeked inside the room again, one last time, she promised herself.

They were standing inside, two large silhouettes almost brushing against each other. Closer to each other than she remembered from _Echo_.

“I needed to practice. The point is that you are happy now with them and that you need to be around other mecha. I’m sorry I’m taking that away from you.”

“You don’t. I don’t think I’d be welcomed either.”

“And I feel like I am putting you in danger. If they find just one of us, then, well… If they find me I’d be killed. I don’t want to drag you with me.”

“Too late for that,” Optimus answered.

His fingers were touching Megatron’s forearm and that was too very gentle.

There were those small gestures that Miko recognized, because she knew her, from her own relationship. This was different than what she observed on _Echo_. That was a messed up attraction that culminated with sex, this was intimacy.

And it was less likely, than that situation in _Echo_ , but it was… it was nice to notice it. It was cute.

“So you are going. Maybe this is the best choice… I just hope it will be all right.”

“You want to go. You want to do something.”

“Oh, wouldn’t you? And believe me, if it was possible, I would give you this opportunity to be useful. You deserve it.”

No, Miko decided. Those were not two archenemies forced into exile together. Those were two people, who chose to spend the exile together. And this was heartwarming as well as heartbreaking.

She left. This was enough. This was also, she realized, surprised, exactly what she needed.

A reassurance.

A way to deal with all those mixed feelings she had.

She returned, calm, to Sari, who was with Slipstream at the moment, just sitting in the bay on the floor, leaned against the ship.

“How are you?” Sari asked.

“Better now.”

“I talked to Optimus, while you were out there,” Sari said. She had this smile on her face Miko knew so well – she felt her on her own face at one point in her life. “Explained to him some things about what happened. Megatron came meanwhile, he looked a little mad, but I guess it was because of what happened to…” Sari hesitated. “To Slipstream. So, they went to discuss what to do next.”

“I noticed,” Miko agreed. “Sorry for that again… I was.”

“Nervous. I know,” Sari leaned do kiss Miko’s temple. “It’s ok.”

***

“So.”

She saw the blue glowing eyes looking at her, feeling the same thing she felt the first time, with the man who did not exist: that they see through her, that they are ancient and sad. Only maybe a little less sad now – Miko really hoped this was not an illusion. If Sari’s software to read EM Fields worked correctly already… but it still didn’t have enough data for the correct interpretation. She smiled thinking of the conversation she overheard.

“I’m happy to see you again.” She said. “I haven’t expected to meet you, and well, I panicked a little, sorry for that.”

“No apologies needed.”

“I feel stupid” Miko admitted. “Hey, how are you doing?”

Optimus was silent for a while and Miko was afraid she asked the wrong question.

“This is not something I can answer easily,” he said in the end.

“I guess so. This is not a usual situation for you. Hey, did you get any help, if I can ask you?”

“Yes. It’s suspended at the moment, because of the communication reasons, but yes.”

“Good. And the place you have is nice. No crystal garden thought.” she chuckled. “I saw a crystal houseplant though.”

“Neither has much patience for growing crystals. The place is… well, the previous one was better, but we were found. By a friend, but it was still too soon,” There it was again, the sadness in his voice. The longing: for the friend he mentioned, for others too – his old friends and subordinates, his species and his planet he must have loved more than anything, and now he lost it for an indefinite period of time.

Maybe, Miko thought, maybe one day they will be able to return. And I will be dead by then, but it’s all right.

And they have each other at least. The decision, that was made then, on _Echo_ , things I made then, all the risk I’ve taken – it was worth it.

“Hey, before, I overheard you talking. I’m sorry about that. But you sounded…” she couldn’t help herself but smile. “Kind of happy? And Megatron… how to put it… It’s weird and I think it’s even weirder for you, but I think he lo...”

She stopped, seeing Optimus shaking his head.

“Miko. Don’t.”

“Oh. Ok. All right. I see. I won’t.” She recalled what Ratchet said. Idiots trying to be in denial. It probably was hard to admit some things to each other, even sharing something like this – but after such a long time of war, after all the things Miko didn’t really know about, one could understand it was hard. “But I’m right and you know it. Slipstream told your race was build to make relationships and bonds.”

“I was already told that by someone,” Optimus agreed.

“You are going to see your friend now. Am I mistaken, or is Ratchet Megatron’s friend as well?”

“They were together on the _Lost Light_.”

“I need to learn something more about this story one day” Miko decided.

It seemed to have a crucial meaning to what happened, and, by the extension, to what happened to her.

***

In the bay they found Megatron sitting next to Ratri, again. He looked like he was talking to her and something in Miko jumped in fear, despite all the things she saw before. He got up noticing Optimus and both humans approaching.

“We were discussing some social issues,” he stated.

“It was enlightening,” the ship’s personality said – more Ratri’s voice? Maybe. Miko really had no idea anymore who was speaking. “I have more insight now. I might have more understanding about society then and now.”

Megatron looked at Optimus.

“She needed updates and explanations,” he stated. “If you want you can give her your perspective. To make sure, she has it from every possible side.”

“I’m afraid that you are more informed currently.”

“This is your mistake. Try to catch up with me, because you can regret it one day. You don’t want to give me the upper hand.”

He was smiling saying that because of course he was.

Miko chose to ignore it. It was all right. Everything was all right at the moment.

“I don’t expect to meet you again,” she said to Optimus, who kneeled again. Damn, she was not going to cry again, no way that she would cry. “But I didn’t expect to meet you again before, and here we are. I’m happy to be able to see you. To see that you are all right. You both are.” She looked towards Megatron. “Hey, take care of him! I know you already do, but, you know, I’m still out there there, in case you messed up.” she said, but she grinned, against her will because she was definitely not smiling at Megatron (and she wasn’t “pulling a tsundere” either!) “And… I really liked the poem, I guess. You had written some better ones before though. I’ve done some reading… Hey, do you know Nautica?” she asked because she had just realized something.

Megatron nodded.

“She was part of my crew.”

Well, that explained something, Miko decided.

They were watched as they entered their ship. Miko was watching as well. The people who changed her life and the shape of the galaxy. Again: something heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

Optimus and Megatron were going to leave soon after, but their ship was going in a different direction now.

Miko sighed.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Sari asked.

“Weird. This was… weird.” Miko admitted. “I guess it was weird for all three of us.”

Sari nodded.

“I learned interesting things.” Slipstream/Ratri stated.

“How to start a revolution?” Miko couldn’t help herself.

“I don’t think I want to get involved in politics right now. I was never a politician. I would never be a good one. And I’m not going to join Shatter in her terrorist cell… And I’m not going to join...” her voice faltered. “...Blackout.”

“We are going back to Cybertron.” Sari told her. “We have a list, contacts, people who we can trust with it. We will see what can be done.”

The ship left the asteroid and was going out of the field now, towards the edges of the system. The old mining facility was getting more and more distant.

Miko leaned against the console.

“You know what?” she said. “Now it would be good to find Blackout. Or Starscream. Or whoever has this sentio metallico now.”

There was a moment of silence after her words.

“You want,” the ship’s voice said slowly “Ask them for sentio metallico?”

“Well, they owe you that. Blackout was part of your Trine. And Starscream… well...”

“Starscream won’t do anything for free.” Ratri/Slipstream protested. “He would want something. He “saved” you, because he believed this will be good for his public image.”

“Then we will find something that will be good for his public image and we will give it to him.”

“This is a bad idea!”

“Slipstream, you had told us that Starscream is not that bad...”

“For a high-rank Decepticon, yes! He is still a treacherous glitch!”

“Well,” Miko put her hands on her hips. “My experience with high-rank Decepticons...”

“Because you got Soundwave, who had always been the one who was doing all the calculating v- and he calculated that killing you is bad for his plans. And you got Megatron at his best! I talked to him, he is a completely different mech than he used to be, and besides, he thinks he owes you! Oh, and you got Shatter, but she is not even a real ‘Con. But this is Starscream and his political career started with tax fraud, and that was even before the revolution! You should have asked Megatron when we had a chance! He would tell you how many times Starscream tried to kill him and depose him.”

“I had an impression they were...” Miko hesitated. “Involved. As in, lovers.”

“They were fragging, yes. Starscream would frag anyone to get to the top. Listen, my point is, I have very mixed feelings about him. The fragments of memories I have are… complicated. And I don’t want you to get involved in something that would be dangerous for you.”

“We already are involved in something like this,” Sari stated. “Too late, Slipstream. We are going to get you out and if Starscream can help us, so be it.”

***

“They seem happy,” Miko said.

Sari lied with head on her chest, reddish hair thrown over Miko’s breasts.

“Mhm,” she muttered into Miko’s skin. “And you seem surprised.”

“I am? I mean it’s… it’s...”

“I think they both are still much more surprised than you are, love.”

“I know… Well, maybe I should stop worry. I think I am happy, that they are happy. I made a good thing, I made it possible. Some part of me wants now to tell the world. Come, one person, you can be like this, just forgive and love each other, go, do this, be happy! The rest unfortunately knows it would end badly.” She stopped for a moment, took a deep breath. “Sari,” she asked, “Are we happy?”

Sari looked at Miko’s face. The right eye saw everything in a normal way. The left one showed the commentary and interpretation in the corner. Sari didn’t need them to know Miko is concerned.

“I think we are. I am. Well, it turned out we are not exactly prepared for what is going to happen, that our ship was not what we wanted and expected her to be, we put ourselves in danger, I got hurt, you feel guilty for that...” she stroked Miko’s face. “We still don’t know what will happen with Ratri… with Slipstream. But yes, I am happy. Are you?”

“I’ve been worried too many times.”

“So was I.”

“I should stop blaming myself. Come one, Optimus and Megatron – they did far more horrible things. To each other too, obviously. They probably are blaming themselves and each other all the time – and it still works for them.”

“I hurt Slipstream. And I will feel guilty for that for the rest of my life probably, despite I had no idea what I am doing… but I guess we cannot go through our lives without hurting the people we love. We just need to make it right afterward. To forgive ourselves. To forgive the others.”

“Probably most people in the universe cannot do it.”

Sari sighed.

“They don’t. Some can. Let’s be those, who can, love. Let help Slipstream become the one who can.”

Because she realized, there must have been lots and lots of anger in Slipstream. For Starscream, for Blackout, for Jazz, for all, who caused her death. For the humans, who took her apart and rebuilt. And those humans must have been confronted yet, and Sari still felt anger and she remembered what she felt those times when she connected to Ratri and peeked inside newly awaken Slipstream’s soul.

  
  



	18. Chapter 18

The route towards Cybertron was already the one they knew – no surprises, they expected, no farther stops on the way. Veiora’s research station was off course and they didn’t plan to stop there. The plan was to go straight to Cybertron and to start to search.

The issue if they should ask Starscream for help or not remained unsolved. Miko pointed out, that yes, maybe Starscream was not and had never been trustworthy, Windblade probably was and since the two were apparently in some kind of a relationship, maybe she could influence him.

Slipstream, of course, had no reason to trust Windblade, so, the plan was to be updated after they reached the planet.

The plans, though Sari much, much later, seemed to change all the time during this crazy journey they had undertaken, and unexpected circumstances happened far too often. If she believed in karma or in some kind of mischievous diety, it would be a useful explanation of what was happening.

The ship appeared on their radars suddenly, but it must have noticed Ratri much earlier. The communication arrived as soon, as two ships entered each other's reach.

“Earth vessel, this is the Galactic Council patrol ship _Glorious Endeavour_. I am captain Duarna Krani” the alien voice spoke with accentless English. The other ship had a good translation module on itself.

Sari noticed Miko getting tense.

“Fuck.”

Last time Miko encountered a Council ship, it started shooting too soon.

“Should I answered?” Ratri asked. Slipstream remained hidden at the moment, maybe that was for the better.

“...yes. I will not take the risk. Fuck. Sari, could you...?”

Sari nodded.

“Opening communication channels,” Ratri announced.

“Captain Duarna Krani. My name is Sari Sumdac, this is indeed an Earth vessel. We are a private ship on a private journey. What does the Council wants form us?”

And why, Sari thought, do you know who we are? Did you get some intel on us? Are you searching for us?

She noticed Miko playing with the armor in its folded, small form.

“Sari Sumdac, as the information I have suggests, one of the passengers of this ship is lieutenant Nakadai Miko of the United Earth Forces, is that correct?”

Now it was Sari who felt cold down her spine. She looked at Miko.

“We should run,” she said after she muted the microphone.

“Do you think we would outrun them?” Miko asked.

Ratri had visuals on the ship: it was massive, the Galactic Council liked big things, apparently.

Ratri’s speaker’s hissed.

“Let them on board, my claws are sharp enough to tear them apart,” Slipstream said. There was burning anger in her voice.

“We don’t know what they want,” Miko said.

“But you suspect what they might want. If they learned...”

“If they learned...” Miko’s fingers squeezed the armor. “Then we already have problems and we can get ready for a war. Fuck.”

“Sari Sumdac,” the alien onboard Council’s ship said again. “Is everything all right with your communication systems?”

Their voice was calm and polite. They didn’t sound like what Miko told about the crew of Steadfast Progress…

Then again, the situation was different, wasn’t it?

“I am on board of this ship, captain,” Miko answered. “What do you want from me?”

“Lieutenant Nakadai. It is an honor,” The alien said. “I was informed, that you are traveling in the Council’s space and I was ordered to ask you to change the course and to go to the Citrix Station.”

Miko muted the microphone again.

“They don’t sound hostile,” she noted. “Honored. Honored my ass. Fuck.”

“You are kind of a hero,” Sari reminded.

Miko laughed.

“If I would be officially considered the one who killed Megatron, then, yes, maybe.”

“You still survived being kidnapped and you were in the anomaly. This must be it.”

“They also want me to go with them. To the Citrix System. I don’t like it.”

Sari found Miko’s hand.

“I know. Say no.”

“I will do it. I hope it won’t be bad.”

“Captain Krani,” Miko said to the alien. She was trying to be as polite as possible. “Thank you for the invitation. May I know why do I have this pleasure? I didn’t expect the Council to take such an interest in me?”

“Unfortunately, I cannot answer your question precisely, lieutenant Nakadai,” the alien answered. “But my orders were clear: I was to take you with me.”

“Then tell the ones who gave you the orders, that I’m honored, but I must decline the invitation.”

“Lieutenant, I must insist,” the alien’s voice was still polite, but now also hard and strict. “It seems that you are needed and I was asked to find you specifically.”

“Fuck,” Miko cursed.

She almost forgot to press the mute in time.

“This sounds bad,” Sari said.

“If I had any gun to shot those fraggers...” Slipstream spat.

“You don’t have them, dear,” Sari reminded her. “And even if you had, we are outnumbered.”

“We are in an even worse position as the one I was in on Echo. And they don’t accept my “no”. Fuck. No asteroid fields in vicinity?”

“The last asteroid field we passed was where we are coming from,” the ship said in Ratri’s voice. “And I guess we are no leading them there,” it added in Slipstream’s.

“No. No way.”

“Lieutenant?” the alien captain asked again.

“Am I arrested, captain?”

“No, of course, you are not! Why would you be?”

“So I am politely asked to be the Council’s guest?”

“Yes, lieutenant Nakadai,” the alien confirmed.

If they understand the irony here, the suggestion, that politely asking someone to be one’s guest could be a threat – well if so, they didn’t show it.

“Captain, could you give me a moment?”

“Of course, lieutenant Nakadai. We are no going to shoot down a civilian ship belonging to our allies.”

“Well, that was what the captain of Steadfast Progress almost did,” Miko said, not even hiding the sarcasm in her voice anymore. “So forgive me, if I am mistrustful.”

“Captain Zovvosk was justified in his actions,” Duarna Krani said calmly. “He believed he was following dangerous terrorists – and, as it turned out, there was at least one terrorist on board of the ship. Possible more that one.”

“Of course,” Miko sighed. “Of course he was right. But I don’t know what kind of orders you have. I don’t know why the council wants me. And my partner is on our ship with me.”

“We are not going to hurt your partner, lieutenant. Neither we are going to hurt you.”

“I will go with you,” Miko stated.

Sari shouted.

“No!” she protested.

Miko turned towards her.

“You will take Ratri and proceed as planned.”

Sari pushed mute, hard.

“Are you fucking crazy?!” she shouted.

“I am not. They want me and they won’t accept “no”. Maybe this is nothing bad. Maybe, I don’t know,” Miko shrugged “a councilmember wants to say hi? Maybe they want intel on the Watcher. But it is possible, that they want something else… in this case, you and Slipstream will be safer elsewhere. And if there is war, then…”

“Then we will be never safe,” Sari answered. Her heart was squeezing inside her.

“Find a way to warn Optimus. Let him be ready for whatever comes.”

“I think he already is.”

“Probably. But tell him. Send a message to Ratchet, maybe? See if there is a possibility to contact Soundwave… or Shatter. Shatter has a lover on Cybertron – find out who that is. Maybe I will be all right. I will send you a message as soon as I will be able to. And there are human diplomats on the station and Cybertronian ones. They will help me.”

Sari thought of the man who Miko despised so much. But he considered Miko an ally, so, maybe, this was a solution.

She nodded slowly.

She didn’t want it.

“We will be waiting for you.”

“I love you,” Miko said and kissed her. Then she turned on the microphone again.

“Captain Krani, I talked to my partner. I will be going with you, but alone and my partner will continue the planned curse. I will join her as soon as it will be possible. Is this acceptable for you?”

“Yes, lieutenant Nakadai. I understand it would be disturbing for you if we insisted on your partner to accompany you. But the Council has no bad intentions towards you or your partner. They are not intending to use your relationship against you. And I have no other orders regarding Sari Sumdac than to ensure her safety. She is free to go.”

“Then we have a deal. You may approach us. I will make preparations to depart. Am I allowed to take a weapon with me?”

“Of course, lieutenant. You are not arrested.”

***

Preparation took more time than needed, Miko deliberately took her time.

She was mad and anxious at the some time. She tried to stop her mind to run all the possible disastrous scenarios at the same time. The fact that the Council’s captain allowed her to be armed and that they let Sari and Slipstream go was a good sign – but the persistence of Duarna Krani was not.

The worst thing? They just learned Megatron’s whereabouts! If the worst-case scenario was true, then the Council would like to question Miko, already suspecting what really happened – and then they will go straight to the old mining facility.

I will tell them nothing, Miko was thinking. With Sari away, they will have no leverage.

And if they will try to use telepathy… well, hopefully, Es-Atheri’s lessons will have their use.

She packed her things – just a few of them, even fewer than she had on board. At least the Council’s ships were equipped to host organic species of many different kinds, including humans. And on the Citrix station…

She didn’t want to think of Citrix station. The vicinity of Kaschig’s field was making the situation even worse.

One thing at the time. Learn what the Council wants – then think what comes next.

The ship approached, a large dark shadow in the darkness of the space.

Sari was silent when Miko was packing. So was Slipstream. They both were thinking of running away, Miko knew that.

Run away, and then, what?

She couldn’t stand Sari’s silence and her eyes – the brown one and the blue one. So at one moment she just went there, grabbed Sari by her shoulders’ pressed her against the wall, and started to kiss her.

Sari gasped at first, went stiff, but before Miko got scared of her own behavior, she had Sari soft again, lips pressed against her lips, kisses both fierce and sweet.

“Damn, I don’t want to go,” Miko muttered. “I want you. Here and now.”

“You are stressed.”

“Yes. Making love to you would help...” Miko sighed and separated from Sari, stopping herself from starting to explore the skin beneath the t-shirt. “No time for this no. I promise you, when I am back, then...”

“I know, love.”

She stole another kiss, trying not to think it might be her last one.

“Take care of Slipstream”

“It is me who will take care of Sari,” the voice out the speaker protested “And the next time we meet I will have a proper body.”

“We will meet sooner. I promise you! I will be all right.”

We all will be, she thought. And now Megatron owes me, damn it.

The ships came closer. Air hissed when the airlock opened and the ships connected. Miko smiled and left – the ship that was more than she expected and the woman she loved. Damn, she loved them both and she wanted to return to them.

I will do everything to survive this, she thought. I’ve been worse.

The second Galactic Council’s captain Miko had the displeasure to meet was a large bipedal, slightly reptilian alien with grayish skin, elongated skull, and large eyes, that invoked the old imaginary of “the grays”. Their lipless mouth looked pursed, so the polite, pleasant voice they used caused a little dissonance.

They looked at Miko from above, but they bowed in a way that indicated they were used to be around smaller species. Miko noticed this was more common among organic aliens than among Cybertronians – a little surprising, regarding the fact that there were many minibots in existence.

“Lieutenant Nakadai. I regret, that you see this invitation as arrest,” the captain said.

“I try not to,” Miko said.

She was not exactly lying. That the captain greeted her themselves was surprising. When she last time entered a Council’s ship, its captain sent one of their officers.

But this time the circumstances were different, she needed to remember that.

“I hope I will be able to convince you of our friendly intentions.”

“I don’t think I doubt your intentions, captain. You let my partner go.”

“You were concerned about her safety, although I would argue, she would be safe at the Citrix station.”

Miko snickered.

“Next to the Kaschig’s field? Sorry, I doubt that.”

“Of course. I understand. Let me show you to your quarters, lieutenant. Unfortunately, we are not prepared for any special needs a member of your species might have, but we know your quarters on the station will be far better than those. Ambassador Michael Rosales will be consulted. He, of course, is aware, that you were invited.”

Miko almost hissed.

Rosales was involved? She didn’t like it any bit.

“Was it his idea?”

“I cannot be a hundred percent sure, lieutenant Nakadai, but as far as I know, yes, he discussed this invitation with this council.”

At least Rosales was convinced I killed Megatron, Miko thought. So he shouldn’t try to prove me guilty, right?

I shouldn’t think about it, she realized suddenly.

They might be telepaths among the crew.

She needed to have some time for herself, to use what Es-Atheri taught her and clear her mind – and hope it will be enough.

“This is a little reassuring,” Miko stated, putting on the best American smile she could make.

“On my side, I just can say, that I admire you, lieutenant Nakadai,” the alien said.

They led her through the ship. The way the corridors looked – and they outline probably as well – reminded her of Steadfast Progress. This ship was similar, hat probably the same amount of people on board.

“Why, captain?”

“You followed the assassin, despite it being dangerous, despite the terrorist attack. You tried to stop him, despite the fact that there are many, many people in the universe that would rather help him. But not you. To the last moment you were aware that law and the wise decision the Council made was to be protected, no matter the cost.”

Oh. Oh. So now she was the noble defender of the law, a true lawful neutral. Great.

But this was in line with the official version.

“I was only following my orders, captain,” she said, smiling.

“Following orders and following the law is the clue to achieve lasting peace. What you did there was a proof, that your species respects our decisions.”

So the captain was lawful neutral as well? Great. Poor thing, they would be disappointed if they were ever to learn, that some Councilmembers supported the assassination plot.

But Miko was not going to correct the captain. Let them believe what they want: this only worked to Miko’s advantage.

“Some people would say, I should have helped the assassin,” she said. “I would be called a hero then. I already heard I lost my chance.”

“You are a hero despite that. You might be young and inexperienced, but you should be a role model for many.”

Well, Miko thought, that escalated quickly.

She was happy when the captain let her into the prepared quarters and allowed her some privacy.

“You can join me on the bridge as soon, as you want to, lieutenant Nakadai,” they said.

She didn’t intend to. Damn. This was definitely better than any suspicion of helping dangerous prisoner to escape (what she in fact did!) – but disturbing nevertheless.

A role model! Oh, she hoped there aren’t many, if any, young people in the Council’s species and peacekeeping forces that consider her a role model, that consider her to be a proper lawful neutral. This made her skin creep. She was a rebel, damn it. She never really felt good in the military. And the story with her trying to stop assassin was a lie.

There were lies on top of lies and conspiracies on top of conspiracies and now someone believed Miko would do great as a part of another plot – she had no doubt this was what was happening. This or someone discovered the truth.

Prowl warned Miko, he told her not to play the game she has no experience in. But she was not the one playing that game: the others were doing it and they chose Miko as the piece on their chessboard.

She needed to play not because she wanted to, but because she wanted to survive and to protect the others.

And, damn, to protect the peace in the galaxy, apparently.

Megatron owes me, she thought.

She wanted to say it out loud, but there might have been recording devices in the room. Damn.

She missed Ratri’s friendly presence already. She missed Slipstream’s presence as well. She missed Sari.

When Sari kissed her for the first time Miko was surprised, but then, then one of the first thoughts she has was that she is never ever going to let go of Sari, never let anybody separate them. And they survived even that awful accident.

And now that.

Damn.

She let out an angry shout, punched the wall. This felt good, allowed her to blow off some steam.

Then she sat down on the bed that was designed for a person larger than her (it would be good for two, she thought) and closed her eyes, recalling Es-Atheri’s lessons.

This needed to work.

Miko was never good at meditation. She considered it boring and mostly pointless, at least for her. Mindfulness was also not her thing. Miko was able to focus on the task, but when left alone, her mind tended to wander. What Es-Atheri taught her was a lot like meditation or mindfulness. Which made sense. Clearing the mind from the random thoughts that could give you up was decent protection in everyday contact with telepaths.

“The surface scans are not very difficult to avoid, once you control your mind on an everyday basis,” Es-Atheri said.

Miko was angry at that point. What, to control herself all the time? Is that even possible? Are the Foria doing it all the time?

“No,” Es-Atheri said. “Most of us don’t do it all the time. People like my spouse are very, very rare. But I know, that there are some people who need to deal with potentially hostile telepaths all the time. They need to have protections.

So, now was the time, because Miko had no idea, which species has telepaths and which doesn’t.

This was going to be hard.

Megatron owes me, damn, she thought, and then she closed her eyes.

There was no Megatron and no old mining facility – or at least there were no thoughts of it.

“What if someone will try to go deeper?” Miko asked Es-Atheri when they trained.

“They must do it on purpose. Most telepaths just don’t go reading all the thoughts all the time. This exhausting and dangerous. One needs to be unstable to do it – and doing it cases you to be unstable, so… No. The deep scans are not something performed just so. Unless a telepath will have a reason to do it, your thoughts need to be background noise for them.”

Unless they will have reason to perform a deep scan.

Miko shivered.

This would mean an interrogation, she had no doubt. How legal one? Were such things allowed by the Council? She had no idea.

She hoped never to get this knowledge, but just in case she intended to be background noise.

***

Captain Duarna Krani invited Miko several times to accompany him, and Miko needed to accept some of those invitations. All the crewmembers she met were polite, even friendly sometimes, but Miko chose the strategy of not being too friendly herself. She remained polite and pleasant, smiled as much, as needed, and socialized as much, as needed. She had practiced this a lot in the past, among humans, and she was surprised how easy it was to translate it to the aliens. Of course, she needed to inform sometimes, that she has no knowledge of how to properly behave which this or this species, could you please explain to me the nuances? I’m traveling to see some other planets and cultures thank you.

For now, it worked.

The captain was helpful and was gladly answering every question Miko had, not that she had many of them that he could really answer. So she didn’t learn why the Council and Michael Rosales wanted her or if there was any telepath on _Glorious Endeavour_ , but she was gathering every small detail on the Council and its Peacekeeping Forces working.

The captain seemed to really be a lawful neutral. The order was an order, the law was the guarantee for peace. They believed in the Council, but they also believed in the alliance with both Earth and Cybertron. And yes, there were people everywhere, in every race and on every planet that would gladly put those alliances and peace in danger, but the Council, despite its many failings, was the force that was made to keep the peace. It was doing well.

Miko was at first thinking that captain Duarna Krani is naive in his belief in the Council… but then, she started to have doubts. They were more complicated than that, and the Council was complicated as well. It must have been corrupted – which non-corrupted government first sentences their enemy to be imprisoned, then tortures him and then orders assassination – but it seemed that too many different species learned how to live together under the Council’s guidance. And every government needed people like captain Duarna Krani, every society needed such people.

And every society needed its heroes – only captain Duarna Krani shouldn’t see Miko as such.

They couldn’t understand why Miko left the military.

“This was too much,” she said. “It never really worked for me. I wanted something else.”

“But you achieved something great!” the captain protested.

Miko laughed.

“Captain, the only thing I did, was trying to stop the assassin. And I failed at that and got kidnapped. I understand why you think of me as of someone worthy of admiration, but I am afraid you are mistaken.”

She tried to explain and the captain accepted the explanations – to a degree because they already believed in what they imagined – about Miko, about the world around. And Miko didn’t really want to correct them.

She was happy, that the journey to the Citrix system was not a long one.

Oh, she would prefer never to come to this cursed place again. But now she was standing on the bridge of _Glorious Endeavour_ – it would be really impolite to decline the invitation – and looked at the system she knew all too well.

There was one thing she noticed. A new station, smaller, than the enormous one occupied by the Council, was being constructed on the outskirts of the system.

“What is that?” Miko asked.

“The Kaschig’s Field must be monitored,” the captain answered. “After your discovery, several small observation points were commissioned in the Citrix System and in the neighboring systems as well. We need to keep an eye on what is inside the anomaly. You will see more patrol ships as well.”

“Oh. This is a good development,” Miko admitted. “Somehow I thought that...”

That the Council is too corrupt to really care, she thought, but never finished the sentence.

Indeed there were more patrol ships in the area and even more near the station itself and near the destroyed moon. Hiding there was probably impossible at the moment – and every attempt at an attack and escape would be more difficult, that it was back then. Not impossible though, it only would need a different approach.

She had no resources and no means of escaping at the moment.

The ship docked.

Miko remembered how it was when she came here for the first time: how amazing and stunning this place seemed to be. Oh, it still was right now, despite she saw many things already, but the station was still amazing. All the aliens, the colors, the sounds and smells, both pleasant and disgusting. And in spite of what was discovered in the system, the aliens here seemed to just lead their everyday life. This was also admirable, but Miko could explain it easily: the station survived so many millennia, with so many wars around… the Watcher and his species was not the first ancient evil. Neither was Megatron.

Michael Rosales waited. Captain of _Glorious Endeavour_ sent him a message when the ship was approaching the station. The man was there when Miko left the ship and was smiling widely as she approached.

“Lieutenant Nakadai, I see you accepted the invitation!”

“I had little choice, Mr Rosales,” Miko said. “Captain Krani was… persistive.”

The man ignored it.

“I cannot see Ms Sumdac with you? Did something happen?”

“As I said, captain Krani was persistive and we did not know, why we were invited. We decided, that Sari and the ship will be safe on the previous route. Are you disappointed, Mr Rosales?”

The man shook his head.

“You are terribly suspicious, lieutenant. But this is good. It is a good sign that you mistrust everyone. And the fact you show that makes you appear as a very open and honest person.”

“I am an honest person. And I expect honesty from you. What do you want from me, Mr Rosales?”

He smiled.

“Well, let us go, I will show you to your quarters and then we could discuss it over a good diner, and maybe even some wine? I think you must be a little tired of the rations, even those you must have on your ship with ms Sumdac.”

His smile was slimy. A man like this, inviting her to dinner usually was worth nothing more, than a kick in the balls. Even if what he wanted from her was political, and not sexual – ant it probably was political – this was a man who thought he can use a woman younger than him. Even if he acknowledged her being capable.

But she needed to play along, unless until she didn’t learn what was really happening. So she put on another false smile.

The man had a nice quarter, big ones, and he rented a room for her in the same part of the station, populated mostly by smaller humanoids. The Elonians used to have an embassy here before their planet was destroyed. There were some Nebulans too and some species Miko saw on her last stay, resembling humans, more or less. Some of them could be humans because the embassy needed the employees.

“This place is calmer than the rest of the station,” Michael Rosales stated. “The people who live there are more like us – at least they look more like us. This can be misleading sometimes, but dealing with every species can have its pitfalls… Be careful, I got several indecent proposals on my first week here, and I didn’t even realize some of them was this, until almost too late,”

This was at least a genuine warning. Miko could imagine, that aliens used to live together and interact were open to experiments and that the new species appearing was exotic to them. The aliens on the Peacekeeping Forces ships had to follow certain rules, so entering intimate situations was much harder, but on a big station interspecies one night stands might have been common.

Miko wasn’t interested so the advice, even given by the man she by default disliked, seemed helpful.

She was also grateful that the man didn’t discuss the matter farther. This was proof, that his plans were purely political.

“So, what is the deal?” she asked, as they were eating this dinner together. Miko declined wine – just in case – and this only earned her an approving smile from Rosales. “What do you want?”

“Several Councilmembers want to meet you,” the man smiled and Miko didn’t like this smile at all. It was a little, sarcastic smile of a person who was scheming and planning something.

Oh, lovely, Miko thought. I sent Sari off to deal with Starscream, and meanwhile, I got this guy. Couldn’t we just, I don’t know, let them eat each other?

“...this is a PR matter, you see. They will try to get your opinion and influence you, win you over to use in the incoming public voting. If you stayed on Earth, they could as well ignore you, but you decided to travel… and since you had survived the attack and Kaschig’s field, some of them would love to make you a symbol.”

Miko frowned. Wonderful. Captain Krani was thinking more or less this way.

“I don’t want to be a symbol. I want to return to Sari and continue our journey.”

“Too late for that, lieutenant. And the symbol part is just the beginning. Some of the Councilmembers participated in the assassination plot, as you are aware.”

“Sorry, I have no idea, which one of them.”

“Of course. But there were such people among them. And there are some, who would love to uncover the plot and use it against their political rivals. And so, here you come. So, they will want to win you over and use to get rid of the opponents, at the same time.”

Moko groaned. She wanted to punch something – hard. And she had just started to believe the Council was doing many good things. But no. Of course no.

At least nothing was suggesting the worst happened. This was reassuring.

“All right. And you? What is your role in this? Because you aren’t saying this out of your good heart.”

“Lieutenant…” Rosales shook his head. “You don’t like me.”

“No. Of course, I don’t.”

“I can live with that. You are still human, a member of my own species – and we should support each other. Humans don’t have much influence in the Council, as you can expect. The entire assassination plot… We were used, lieutenant. Of course, general Faireborn was aware of it and she chooses to participate for our safety, but besides securing this safety we didn’t get much. Officially we are valued as allies, but we are still weak, one of the youngest races in the galaxy. I can watch what the Council decides, but we have no vote. So everything I can do is influencing things from behind the scenes. So, here is where you come in. They want to use you – let them. And at the same time use them. Talk. Observe.”

Miko laughed.

“I’m not a politician. I’m a soldier turned adventurer.”

“But you are smart and resourceful, you can improvise and you are already kind of famous. You can do it.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not much,” Rosales said. He took his glass to sip some wine. Oh, he looks like a scheming villain, Miko thought. Just great.

“You can regret it. I’m not a person who you think I am.”

“We will see, lieutenant… we will see. For now, enjoy the meal, enjoy the station, enjoy the fame and respect you had earned. You deserve it.”

He isn’t telling me everything, Miko thought.

But this was ok. She just needed to play along for as long, as necessary.


	19. Chapter 19

Sari started to cry first after the Council’s ship left, carrying Miko away.

She just couldn’t stop herself, tears just started flowing from her eyes – both from the brown one and from the blue one.

Miko had promised to came back and Sari believed this, because if Miko was not able to escape a hard situation, then no one was – but believing in this didn’t make Sari less stressed. And Miko was alone out there, going to the place she wanted to avoid.

There were friendly people on the Citrix station, there must have been, Sari told herself. Humans had their diplomats there, and to properly arrest a citizen of an allied planet… well, there must have been rules for that, right? Even if this was the case of the Council learning the truth.

This, this was the worst-case scenario, Miko knew it and Sari knew it as well.

She sat on the floor, not trying to stop crying. She felt a slow brush of a steel claw on her shoulder.

“Sari,” the ship’s voice was sad and soothing. “Sari, my dearest, don’t cry.”

“Sometimes one needs to cry,” Sari answered “Stress. This is stress. I just cannot keep it in me.”

“I don’t want to see your sadness,” the ship said. “I don’t want to see you in pain. I don’t want us to be away from Miko. I lost one trine already. I don’t want to lose the other one.”

Sari smiled faintly, she touched the claw. Was Ratri/Slipstream able to feel it? She must have to, in a way. Sari hoped she did.

“I’m with you. I will be as long as…” she swallowed. “As possible. And I am not giving up on Miko. We have a mission now, for her and for us. We need to go, my dearest. But first, let me sit here and cry, please. I need it.”

“Yes, Sari,” the ship said and for a moment it was as if the old Ratri was back, but Sari realized, she didn’t really care. She cared for the person she loved, regardless of the name this person used – the person that was now with her. “I feel bad as well… I cannot remember, how our third trinemate died, but I remember how did it feel to lose him. And I fear of losing Miko this way. I feared when you were hit and when Blackout tried to kill Miko. But I cannot cry. I don’t know if I was ever able to cry. I think I’d probably go and destroy something. Kill someone. And this is also something I cannot do. I cannot really cry and I cannot turn my anger on someone. What can I do?” the voice became desperate.

“You can hold me,” Sari suggested.

The tentacles wrapped themselves around her. This was not a tight embrace, not an endangering one, and despite theirs were colder, than human flesh, they were also warmer than normal metal and they twitched and buzzed with energy – they were alive.

“Ratri… Slipstream… can you feel me?” Sari asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Touch. When you use them – do you feel touch?”

“They don’t have proper tactile receptors, because I seem not to have input for tactile sensors in my current form. This is something I lack. I use other sensors to recreate the sensation, but I believe I cannot feel touch properly.”

Sari nodded.

“And I was touching you all the time.”

“You are touching me all the time, when you are walking, where you are sleeping. But I know – I understand your gestures. I cannot feel them – but I appreciate it,” the voice had a sweeter tone now. “For what I remember, my species likes to touch as much, as you do. I remember how it was. I remember glimpses of other… types of closeness as well… but it is wrong to discuss it now, Sari.” She added, quickly.

“No” Sari agreed. This was not the time to go this road now. “But I want closeness and comfort if you are willing to give them to me.”

“This is something I want as well” the ship’s personality agreed. “We are trine, even if it is just temporary.”

Temporary. This was disturbing and Sari didn’t want to think about it.

She thought of taking the cable, plugging it into her implant, and dive into Ratri’s presence… or Slipstream’s presence, she didn’t care at the moment. She just wanted to be with someone, to feel loved.

She was loved. She just needed to be patient.

They spent some time in silence before Sari decided it is time to go. Miko wouldn’t want them to submit to sadness and Miko wanted them to act. They could have done that.

The way back to Cybertron seemed to be both longer and shorter than it was the last time. Shorter, because nothing more happened on the way – longer because they were alone now. The planet itself was a little less overwhelming now. Still not designed for human beings, too bright and too loud, but now Sari knew what to expect.

They landed at the same place, close to the dome. This meant Sari would be close to the ship, but separating from her only companion was even harder now than before. She waited longer than usual with leaving the ship.

“I’d love to have you with me” she admitted. “I’d love you to go with me, be my guide, meet people with me. This is your planet after all. And I’m sorry, that you will spend another indefinite period on time stuck in the port.” Sari stroked the console again. She was sure now, that Ratri/Slipstream cannot feel it, but she knew it when there was only Ratri, and built entirely by the humans. This gesture was only for Sari then… but now she wanted Slipstream to feel it and this was a little weird, a little scary and a little exciting.

Soon, she promised herself.

“This is not even my planet, Sari” Slipstream noticed. “And even if it was the original Cybertron… It wouldn’t make any difference for me, really. It had been so long and the last memory I can recall is the planet destroyed… I don’t think I ever hoped to return? And then I died. So there is no big difference for me. This is not my planet.”

Slipstream might have said that, but her voice sounded a little sad.

“It can be your planet one day,” Sari suggested

“Maybe. I don’t know. I’ll be patient now, Sari. I will be with you”

A tentacle slipped down to touch Sari’s cheek and arm. There were so much tenderness and affection in this gesture… Sari shivered.

“I will be in touch with you,” she promised.

***

Sari didn’t meet the human ambassador, although she informed him of her coming. She was just not in the mood and she somehow didn’t want to see humans – except for Miko. Oh, she was aware that talking with Jae Park will be necessary at one point, for Miko’s sake, but she had other matters to attend.

Swivel found Sari themselves and came to greet her. They asked about Miko and Sari just shook her head.

“I hope she will be joining us soon. Thank you for your concern.”

“You are worried,” Swivel noticed.

They cocked their head and the light blinked on the round surface of the googles. Or was it just their eyes? No one really knew that.

Sari nodded.

“Miko needed to stay behind. I’m here to do an important thing.. Could you please take me to the clinic again?”

Swivel was a little surprised, but they were not a mech, who would ask many questions. They helped Sari to get there and left her, attending to their own business.

The mech in the reception recognized Sari. No wonder, since she and Miko were the only human beings – no, probably the only organics – they had ever met.

“Hello? I did not expect you here” they said. “Did you found Ratchet?”

“Yes. This is why I came back.”

“Oh.” The mech looked confused.

“Did you have any information from Ratchet?”

“From him? No. He seems to be too occupied. But Drift sent us a message.”

“So you are able to contact them?”

“Yes? Why...”

Sari used the stairs designed for minibots to climb the desk. This way she was closer to the receptionist and also on the level on their eyes. They used the elevated platform as well, she noticed. They had been taller than most minibots Sari had seen by far, but very slender in build.

“I need several things, but I think the first one is to send Ratchet a message. This is an urgent matter. Some things… changed on our way back here and I’m afraid he might be in danger.”

The mech pressed the hand against their mouth.

“Och! What… what happened?”

“This is a long story, but he knows what it is about. Please? Could you help?”

The door leading to the farther parts of the clinic opened. The mech who entered had a similar color pattern to the one Ratchet used, the build giving no signs of any of the most popular alt-modes: no wheels or wings or cockpits visible. They also didn’t have any excessive armor but were much larger and stocky, than the receptionist.

“Pyris, do you have any information from...” they started, then they looked towards Sari and they eyes opened widely. “Is this one of the humans you had mentioned before?” They asked.

“Well, yes, one of them.” the receptionist nodded. “They say they need to contact Ratchet, again.”

“You already told them...”

“I know” Sari interrupted. “We were there, but on our way back some things changed and now I need to send a message. Ratchet also suggested to talk to you… to his employees, at least… he mentioned…” Sari called the list she downloaded to the drive in the implant. This was really comfortable, to be able to just see it, not to search for the tablet and manipulate it with gloved fingers. “Chema. And Pyris” she looked at the receptionist. “That must be you.”

“I am Chema,” the medic said. “I try to run this when Ratchet is not around and I’m starting to realize where does he have his temper from. Pyris, sweetspark, had Whirl called or not? Because he really needs the checkup,” Chema sighed. “This is why I need Ratchet back here,” they, or rather she, Sari recalled which pronouns Ratchet was using. Neither Chema’s frameshape, nor her voice, nor face was feminine to human eyes. “This crazy mech is his friend and he is making problems since the first moment he got there and...”

The door opened and Sari saw:

One blue and white minibot, who resembled the one that stumbled on Miko the last time…

...and definitely was the same one, because there were two other mecha with him, the same as the last time, a large, purple flyer with the skeletal face under the horned helmet, and a blue faceless with pincers in place of hands…

...with one hand actually, because the other ended somewhere where the human should have an elbow. The faceless was also covered in patches, some of them of slightly different shades of blue than the most of his frame.

The minibot held the door open, while the purple flyer dragged the faceless into the clinic.

“Oh,” Chema said. “Speaking of the turbofox. Hi Tailgate,” She greeted the minibot. Then she looked at the missing hand. “Wait, what is that?”

“This is,” the flyer said, “What happens when you keep a scraplet colony that accidentally eats your brand new hand.”

“It was not an accident!” the faceless, Whirl, as Sari suspected by now, exclaimed. “It was not a good hand. It felt wrong. And my Pest usually doesn’t get to eat living parts, so I just fed her.”

“Wasting a perfectly good hand,” Chema sighed.

“It was not a good hand! I want my old hand back!”

“Whirl, for Primus’ sake,” the flyer “Just let Chema see you.”

“She will give me the wrong hand again.”

The minibot, Tailgate, noticed Sari and… kind of smiled? Sari got the impression of athesmile in the way he positioned his head. The mechanical eye registered the fluctuations in the field, that were obviously Tailgate’s reaction to Sari’s presence. She made a quick mark to analyze it later.

“Hi. We had met, right?” He said.

“Yes. Hi. I’m Sari.”

“Look,” she heard Chema speaking. “I have a spare pair of pincers. I have too many spare pincers in fact. In contrary to proper hands. I will give you pincers. Is that all right, Whirl?”

“Someone else gets a hand,” Whirl said, satisfied.

“I came here in a bad moment,” Sari stated. “But nice to meet you, Tailgate. You are friends with Ratchet too?”

“Yes. We were on the same ship, and...”

“The Lost Light,” Sari guessed. This was a pattern, apparently.

Miko would try not to ask about Megatron. Sari just nodded.

“I’ve heard of it. I see you are close.”

“Well, Cyclonus is my conjunx endura. Whirl is…” Tailgate made another move with his head and his field shifted again. He was an excellent case to study, expressive despite the face entirely covered with visor and mask, using his voice, movements, and the field itself a lot – and his field was large and bright. “Whirl is our amica. Very close.”

“What happened to him?”

“Oh, it was the last time I met you, during the attack. He followed the terrorists, and got badly damaged.”

Sari nodded slowly. Oh, there definitely was a pattern – and she already heard the story from Shatter’s perspective.

“But he helped to find what they were really after” Tailgate continued. “So I think he helped. Only don’t tell him that, because he seems to be really conflicted.”

Whirl, fortunately, didn’t hear that. Cyclonus and Chema managed to take him to the farther parts of the clinic. The reception had gotten quiet.

Pyris sighed, relieved.

“I just have enough of him” they stated.

“Whirl is a good mech!” Tailgate protested. “He tends to overreact and he goes into a fight without thinking, sometimes, too often, and he is stressed when it comes to his hands, but he is a good mech.”

Pyris looked at their hands. They looked new, Sari noticed, shinier than the rest of their frame.

With the exception of the helmet, that was also brand new.

“He could have normal hands,” they said. “A normal face. I don’t understand it. I was the most happy when I got my hands and face back.”

“He got used to them, Pyris” Tailgate said. “I think this is one of the things that make him… him. If he doesn’t want to have new hands and a face, then let him.”

Pyris nodded.

“Whirl is not the only one, I know. Some of them just choose to remain like this… and he is from this universe, so it is something else for him. I know that too. I just remember how I felt.”

This was probably not very sensitive, but Sari used the opportunity to store information on Pyris’s field. The emotions were just too visible at the moment.

She remained silent though. This was definitely not something the two mecha would like to discuss with a human.

Finally, Pyris remembered she was there.

“We will continue,” they promised to Tailgate, then looked at Sari. “I’m so sorry to keep you waiting,” they said. “Come, we can talk now. You were saying about sending Ratchet a message?”

They let Sari to the back, to a place that looked like an office. The minibot receptionist was the one working here because all the furniture were adjusted to their size. This also was a reason Sari didn’t have a lot of problems accessing the desk and the communication device.

“Should I turn it off for you?” the receptionist asked.

Sari nodded, then watched, to get the basics.

There was some static in the device before she heard Drift’s voice. There were no visuals, possibly because of the communication issues mentioned earlier, but the voice was even more than Sari needed.

“Pyris? Yes?”

Sari took a deep breath.

“Drift, right?, here is Sari Sumdac, a human, we had met recently. You remember me, right?”

“I do. What is going on?”

“Are you all right? How is the disease?”

“Ratchet thinks we will have it under control soon enough. But if you wanted to speak with him, then you chose a bad moment for this. We had just managed to force him to recharge.”

“It’s all right. I’m glad that at least this is going well. Drift, listen, I’m not going to talk very long, but I need to warn you. Miko was taken by the Galactic Council and we don’t know why the captain of their ship said she is not arrested so we hope this is not about… some suspicions they might have. But we needed to warn you just in case something went wrong. I hope your friends will be prepared.”

Drift was silent for a while.

“All right,” he said. “Thank you for the warning. How is it going with Slipstream? Ratchet would want to know when he wakes up.”

“I didn’t manage to talk to Chema yet, she is occupied with some very angry mech called Whirl...” Sari paused when Drift let out an amused chuckle. “...The priority was to warn you. You can tell Ratchet that either Chema or I will send him an update as soon, as we will have it and also that we have a plan to get Sentio Metallico, wish us luck because it includes negotiating with Starscream. And, thank you again, send my thanks to Ratchet, I hope, that if we meet again you will be able to see Slipstream in her new body and that Miko will be with us and that… well, nothing bad happens.”

“Thank you as well,” Drift said.

As Sari disconnected the call, Pyris looked at her, concerned.

“Is there something I should be worried about?”

“Hopefully not,” Sari said. “If there is, Ratchet will inform you himself. Now, I need to wait for Chema to finish her job.”

This took some time, but Sari spent it talking to Pyris and to Tailgate. Both mecha seemed to have extremely different backgrounds, and histories, and the most important thing they had in common was the size and originating from the low caste. Pyris seemed to believe Tailgate was amazing (“But you visited so many alien planets!”), Tailgate considered Pyris very brave for enduring during Functionist rule. And both of them couldn’t stop themselves from asking Sari questions, lots of them, about Earth, humans, and Sari’s own travel.

In the end, Tailgate’s conjunx endura and friend left. Sari understood by now that this term depicts a spouse and that Tailgate’s spouse was the horned purple mech. The two were so drastically different, starting with size and design, ending with expressiveness, but the number of tender gestures between them – even now, when their main concern was their friend – was indicating how much in love they were. The third of them, Whirl, was… well, a little calmer, than before and he had now a pair of pincers in place of missing hand now.

There were three of them, a married couple and a close friend. They looked a little like a family – Sari realized that first after they left and asking about how popular relationships consisting of more than two mecha were… not only among the Seekers.

For now, she needed to discuss things with Chema. The medic was very patient and was listening with obvious fascination.

“This is not something that cannot be done,” she stated. “I never did it, however, and I would be more confident if I had Ratchet with me, but I can try. Removing the spark and brain module and moving them to a new body is not an easy procedure, but not something I wouldn’t be able to do. I am used to working with empurata victims, I moved many brain modules between heads. The problem is, however, the state of spark and brain module. You mentioned the spark casing being partially damaged… this is also not a big problem – but we still don’t know the state of Slipstream’s brain module, if there is any damage and how big. There is also the question of a body. I have spare parts...” Chema grimaced. “But they are mostly heads and hands that once belonged to empurata victims. I cannot get a body for Slipstream.”

“I will take care of this. Ratchet told me to contact either...” Sari called the list to her mechanical eye. “Knock Out or Anode.”

“I know Anode, she is skilled at shaping protoforms, but I don’t think she is capable of design and create a fully functional body. Knock Out...” Chema frowned again. “I didn’t had the opportunity to meet him. I know he is very skilled, but also his skills are expensive. I have no idea, what about your finance...”

“Not very good,” Sari admitted. “Well, thank you for your explanation. I will see what my possibilities are.”

“It is Starscream or nothing,” Sari informed Slipstream a little later after she finished the discussion with Chema and was riding back to the dome using – again – Swivel as transport. “If he gives us the sentio metallico, then we are able to persuade him to found the construction of the body as well. If not… we will be searching for other solutions, but it can take some time.”

“I have no choice anymore, right?” Slipstream asked, displeased. “Let it be this way then.”

“We can find some other Seekers, they would persuade Starscream. Blackout...”

“I don’t want Blackout to see me in my current state,” Slipstream interrupted. “He already thinks you were trying to mess with him.”

“Well, we can find Starscream’s own trine then.”

“They probably still don’t have any influence on him, but you can try.”

The next step then was to an appointment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, I might have most of the story written already, but the chapters need revision and I had a week when I couldn't work on anything. My country is being bullshit and this is still not the level of what is happening in other places :/ Writing is my way of coping, but there are days when I can't write.


	20. Chapter 20

Miko remembered Councilmember Iastrar. They were the ones, who lead Marissa Faireborn, Miko, and major Pretorius to Megatron’s prison. Iastrar was tall, slender, and dignified, their head long, with a crown of horns adorned with jewels and chains. There was something beautiful in how they moved and in the pattern of ridges covering their thick skin. Their eyes were large and really lovely for human standards. Iastrar could be seen as a beautiful demon.

Maybe that was what they were.

Were they a part of the conspiracy? Were they corrupt? They were eerie and inhuman, but that didn’t make them evil.

The invitation from Iastrar came just after Miko returned to her quarters. So, she thought, looking at the piece of paper covered with the roman alphabet and some alien writing, it starts now.

Iastrar was prepared – they even have some earth sweets mixed with some alien ones.

“We had met once, lieutenant,” they said.

Miko nodded.

“I remember you, Councilmember.”

“I forgot you, lieutenant,” Iastrar confessed. “I forgot you quickly because I thought you and your other companion were just random soldiers following your general. I was not aware you were more. But I think no one was at the time.”

What should I say? Miko thought. Should I admit that I was a part of the conspiracy?

No. There is a chance, that Iastrar doesn’t know what really the visit was about. Better stick to the official version, unless until they decide to uncover their cards.

“I didn’t expect all this to happen, Councilmember. At the moment I was as you said: a soldier accompanying her general.”

“And you grew. And you left the military.”

The large eyes were questioning.

Was Iastrar a telepath? How to recognize a telepath?”

Miko took a deep breath and cleared her mind once again because her thoughts were escaping in the directions they shouldn’t go.

“This was too much for me. And I never really fit.”

“I can see that. But you contributed to our safety. You must have seen on the way here – the new stations, all the ships...”

“I hope, they will help.”

“So we hope… we founded some research, looked for old legends we used to ignore… This race is older than any of us. They claimed to create several species in the universe, you know.”

“If not all of them, Councilmember. They definitely implied this for humans and Cybertronians.”

“When it comes to mechanical races, then, well someone must have designed them. It’s not that cogs and screws occur naturally and just organize into a robot… And I must sound like a chauvinistic here, but sometimes I really think whoever created Cybertron and its inhabitants must have had a sinister mind and sinister purpose…”

“I met several Cybertronians by far, Councilmember. They are as complex, as any other species.”

Iastrar nodded.

“An open-mindedness one could expect from a human. You are a fine addition, a great ally. What you bring to the Galactic Council and the community we build is new and fresh. This is always like this, with new races.”

Are you trying to court me, Iastrar? Miko thought. To court humanity? Damn, it would work for Rosales, probably. But I just want out. I never wanted to be involved in the alien politics.

If Iastrar was indeed willing to support humanity, then they would be a perfect ally for Rosales. They could also lie – and Miko had no peans to find out.

Why did it all have to be so complicated?

I’ve gotten involved in politics in it the very moment I said yes when general Faireborn told me what the mission was…, Miko allowed herself to think when she was alone after the meeting with the Councilmember. It was hard not to let thoughts slip from the control. It was tiresome to keep them in control all the time.

No, I got involved the moment I followed the drone and fell into Soundwave’s trap. Or earlier, when I took Oluwasegun Pretorius’ hand and felt it was cold.

***

She met many members of the Council after that. Probably not all of them – the Council took care of multiple races most of them having their representatives, but not all of them as important, as the others. In other circumstances, Miko wouldn’t even bother to remember who was who, now she was trying to making notes. She wrote down that Errr’Chirrk was an insectoid who seemed to be happy about the all assassination situation, Acante had so many implants on their body, that the organic parts seemed to be patches attached on a mechanical being, Nasiyaan seemed to be an idealist, but also dedicated to their religion, and Lanxi was just creepy with her behavior and looks resembling vampires from pulp novels. There were also many more, not each one of them talking to Miko directly. There was also Governor Sherle, a person who took care of the station and of the wellbeing of its inhabitants and guests. Miko had talked to them before when she was questioned after the situation in Kashig’s field. Now the Governor didn’t have much to ask, so Miko allowed herself to ask several questions about the watch stations and increased patrols and the Governor seemed to be pleased with her concern.

At least one person, Miko though, is taking care of what is really an issue here.

This was a tiresome day. Miko wanted nothing more than go to sleep, but then another invitation awaited.

She opened the envelope with some hope and was disappointed. It was Councilmember Lanxi, wanting to see the human guest in more private circumstances. The “private circumstances” meant a club, so Miko decided that she should be quite safe. Definitely more, than if the Councilmember invited her to the private quarters.

Still, Miko didn’t like it.

She went through, thinking she will say hi, talk to the Councilmember shortly, very shortly, and then leave. Rosales was informed. And maybe the way Lanxi behaved was misleading.

The place Miko ended up in was not unlike the clubs on Erath, dark and pulsing with colorful lights and music that was maybe a little too loud. It was built for smaller people, roughly the size of a human indeed, but not all of them were humanoids.

Councilmember Lanxi waited at a booth ant the end of the club. The place was silent and private and Miko thought she maybe should run away now, only it was too late.

Lanxi was really looking like a vampire. Vampire in space, which should be funny, only it was not. She had dark gray skin, that looked smooth and cold and orange hair. She was definitely feminine in the human understanding of femininity.

She had long fingers, six of them, every each ending which a nail… or claw? Painted (maybe not painted…?) in bloody red color.

“Sit down, lieutenant” even Lanxi’s voice was a stereotype of a femme-fatale-vampiress and Miko felt an urge to sit. Not something she wouldn’t be able to fight, but an urge.

She didn’t like to be urged this way.

Councilmember smiled.

“I’m happy we have an opportunity to get to know each other better. Meeting such a brave person form a race, that has an opinion of being… well, really smart and resourceful, and fearless, despite being young and seemingly week… But you, humans, might be a young race, but you are not weak. I’m happy that I have an opportunity to meet one of you… better.”

Each word was spoken slowly, lips moving carefully as if Lanxi tried to form each word separately – or to make Miko pay attention on her lips. Which, to be honest, was not a hard task, because there was something hypnotizing about those lips and there were glimpses of sharp teeth and a long tongue behind them. Damn. Miko could really understand that there were people for whom Councilmember Lanxi was an embodiment of certain fetishes.

Even for Miko Lanxi was attractive, but it was attractiveness you prefer to see from afar. Right now Lanxi was too close.

Miko tried her best to remain neutral, but polite.

“I feel honored, Councilmember.”

Lanxi laughed.

“Oh, you can use my name, Miko… that is your first name, am I right? Can I call you that?”

“Councilmember, I appreciate your attention, but I don’t think it is appropriate to be so friendly. I am considered an asset by many and it could be a politically bad decision if I was friendly with one of you.”

“Oh, but you are an asset.” Lanxi smiled. “And getting this asset is something I am interested in it. I don’t pretend to be your friend. I am interested in the secrets you might be hiding, pretty one. You see, at least I am honest with you, a luxury you don’t really have in this place. Everyone around is lying, pretty one. I am honest: I could give you protection…” her smile got wider, more predatory “I could give you pleasure as well, a pleasure you could not experience with any of your species… And in return, I want secrets that will make this place burn.”

Miko laughed shortly.

“Go to Kaschig’s Field, Councilmember. The secrets you want are there.”

Lanxi sighed with disappointment.

“Well, I made an offer. I can be persistent if I want, but it is in bad taste to force someone like you. You will have time to consider what I’m going to say to you. I know there was a conspiracy on this station, lieutenant and that someone died. This, someone, was considered a danger to us all, yes, but when they ordered to kill him, they went against their principles. I need the names of those people, lieutenant. I don’t believe you know them, but I believe you know a secret that can lead me to them. You might be not aware of this… If you went with me, if you let me take care of you and give me pleasure, we would be able to open your lovely head and find out this secret… But as I said: I’m not going to force it upon you. But if you ever decide you want to uncover the conspiracy, that you want this nest of darnka burnt – I’m the right person.” The smile on Lanxi’s face was a little less dangerous now. “Came to me then. Now… Now be my guest. Ter!” she called and an alien of her species appeared, tall, handsome, dressed in a costume covered with tiny lights. “Lieutenant is our guest. Get her something to drink. Enjoy the evening.” she said, smiling at Miko again.

Well, that didn’t go as bad as it could, Miko thought.

Councilmember Lanxi was a space vampire and wanted secrets, and was trying to seduce Miko and was talking of opening her head, but didn’t do all those things… by far?

Another alien of the same species – it must have been their club apparently – came and gave Miko a tall glass with something that swirled with pretty colors and smelled like fresh strawberries.

Miko stood there for a moment, the glass in her hand. How to dispose of it discretely?

Not only she had doubts if she should drink it. She heard a voice behind her.

“I wouldn’t drink that.”

She saw a woman, possibly a human thought they weren’t introduced by far. The woman had brownish skin and golden brown hair and she wore a short black dress. Her face, makeup, and hairstyle resembled several movie stars from the early 2000s, only the woman was a little darker and a little more rounded at her waist and arms.

“This person,” the woman pointed at one of the aliens “Usually uses that to drug people. In your case, they would deliver you to Councilmember Lanxi.”

“Thanks,” Miko said. “I had doubts if I should drink it anyway.”

And here it goes the last piece of trust that Lanxi was at least a little honest.

Miko looked at the alien, smiled, and slowly poured the drink down the floor.

The woman shook her head.

“That was bold. But something I would expect from you. Nice to meet you again, Miko.”

“Wait… do we know each other?”

The woman smiled.

“Oh, yes, but I didn’t use a holomatter avatar then.”

Miko’s eyes must have gotten wide.

“You are Bumblebee? But… but...” she took a deep breath. “Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t expect a woman.”

The woman – the Cybertronian ambassador using a holomatter avatar – smiled again.

“The female gender was picked some years ago on Earth when the avatar was mostly used as a fake driver for my alt mode. And it just stayed,” She – he – shrugged. “Are you uncomfortable with this?”

“No! And not with you using the avatar, not at all! And any gender makes sense, so. Just… Well, nice to meet you again too. And thank you for the warning again. What are your doing here… and outside of your body?”

‘Bee’s avatar shrugged.

“I socialize. I listen. It is tiresome and I hate it, but sometimes it is easier that way. Many organic species are seeing me as a threat. When they see one of them, they feel more comfortable opening up a little more.” he sighed. “But you must have experienced it as well.

“Kind of” Miko admitted. “But it was a different situation.”

“Yes. You were used.”

She shrugged.

“I’m starting to be used to being used. Thank you for your compassion. I appreciate it.”

Bumblebee frowned. The avatar’s design made this frown looking really cute.

“I expect you are not here entirely out your own volition.”

“Michael Rosales brought me.”

“To give you out to the council.”

“I will deal with it.”

“If you need support, I’m here.”

Miko gave him a puzzled look.

“What do you want in return? Sorry. You seem to be a genuinely nice person, but you are a small bee in the nest of hornets right now. You need to survive and to gain something for your people. I understand that.” She frowned. “I understand what Rosales wants from me. I understand why the Councilmembers can want things from me.”

“And what do you want?”

“To be back with my partner and our ship. I only need to avoid getting killed, or drugged.” she threw a glance towards the alien who gave her the drink before. “Or getting my mind searched by a telepath and then wiped out. Or getting arrested and put on trial. Yeah. Everything is fine. I will survive. I’ve survived worse.”

“You don’t deserve to be here.”

“Do you?”

Bumblebee shrugged.

“Neither of us does. But I chose it for the sake or my people.

“Well, I chose it for the sake of those I love.”

“If you ever need something, came to me. And avoid that person” the avatar’s chin pointed at the alien. “You made a show. I’m not sure if he likes it.”

“I’m not here to make friends.”

“I understand that. But you can use one.”

“Thank you” Miko smiled “I appreciate that.”

Then she thought about something.

“You knew I’m going to bee here?”

He nodded.

“Lanxi has a reputation. You are a novelty for her and I heard a rumor she wants to meet you…”

Oh, great, the space vampire thing. Giving Miko pleasure and then opening Miko’s head for secrets.

“She would eat me?” Miko guessed.

“Probably not. But she would...” ‘Bee’s face frowned. “I’m not sure how you would understand that, but she is said to do this thing with other organics where she feeds on their emotions and thoughts.”

Miko felt a cold shiver.

“Fuck. A telepath.”

“An organic one, yes,” ‘Bee agreed.

For him, a “normal” telepath would be someone like Soundwave.

Miko couldn’t help than look at her savior with immense gratitude.

“I am in debt.”

‘Bee laughed.

“Our people are allies.”

Does he want something? Miko thought. Is he playing a game here?

“I’d prefer to meet you in other circumstances then,” she said. “I might have hoped for an official invitation.”

“I was going to send you one. You will get it at the beginning of the next day cycle.”

“Good. I will feel better speaking to the real you. No offense, the avatar is… confusing.”

“...and you have a bad experience with them.”

“It was not exactly bad,” Miko protested before she realized it must have been too much.

But ‘Bee didn’t ask more questions.

“We meet tomorrow,” he promised. “No avatars. And no Councilmember Lanxi”

In the end, it was a good turn of events, Miko decided.

***

Bumblebee was the first Cybertronian Miko met who was really expecting to have human guests. His quarters had a place accommodated for such guests, with a comfortable couch and even with a kettle and selection of teas. Miko needed to make the tea herself, but she didn’t mind. It was an improvement and made the visit far more comfortable.

So she sat with a cup of tea in her hands – a real tea, not something of alien origin and unknown properties – and was able to talk to Bumblebee face to face. She felt more comfortable like this.

“You didn’t have any problems because of yesterday?” he asked.

Miko shrugged.

“I think Lanxi will just try to convince me again one day. I hope to get out of here by then. Thanks for your help yesterday, and, well for the tea,” she smiled “You are the first of your people I meet who has tea.”

“There always is a place for improvement. I spent some time with humans, I learned enough. And I was always considerate” he smiled and this was not exactly a pleased smile. “That’s why I chose to come here.”

“A little bee in hornets’ nest. But you want something from me,” She decided to ply it openly. It was enough that the human ambassador was trying to use her.

‘Bee shook his head.

“I understand everyone wants something from you, Miko.”

“Of course! Starting with my own species. Ugh. Lanxi was at least a little honest with me, despite wanting to have me drugged then, ugh. She apparently wants to uncover a conspiracy and suggested that… that Megatron’s assassination was a part of a bigger game.”

“In politics, everything is a part of a bigger game.” ‘Bee said. His vents and vocalizer hissed in a sigh. “Or, at least, people like that believe it. They often fail then, but not before they create chaos. I spent several years attached to Starscream’s head, so I learned how they think.”

“Attached… in what way?” Miko asked. The meaning of “attached to someone’s head” could vary.

“I was a little dead.”

“Oh. It must have been awful. Being dead I mean. And being attached to Starscream.”

“I grew to like him, in the end. I helped him to get a new body when he stuck in the same situation I was at the beginning.”

Miko’s eyes grew large. Was it, in all the chaos of plotting and scheming that the Citrix Station was, a chance for Slipstream.

“Do you know a way to make Starscream… you know… help? Help someone who might be in a similar situation? I mean, someone who needs a body?”

‘Bee gave her a puzzled look, so she explained, shortly.

“And it doesn’t bother you that he… she was a Decepticon?”

Miko shrugged.

“You had just told me you came to like Starscream. I already know people are complicated. Your people as well. I don’t mind Slipstream being what she is.”

He was looking at her for a long moment.

“You are an interesting person, Nakadai Miko.”

Miko sighed.

“Look, don’t start me on my experience with my supposed captors and with the person, who… you know. Because I have enough of this. Because everyone wants something from me because of that situation and they think they know what I think and they think I will help them, because, what, I was there when Megatron was assassinated and...”

She stopped, feeling anger almost overcoming her. You shouldn’t, Miko, she reprimanded herself.

“I’m not making assumptions,” she heard Bumblebee saying. “I’m sorry you were treated like this. I’m not going to discuss Megatron’s death with you again.”

“You… don’t?”

The hiss-sigh again.

“Look, what happened happened. What was done to Megatron was not the perfect solution and I disliked it. I heard rumors that the choice of punishment was motivated by the cruelty of some of the Councilmembers. But I couldn’t oppose it. None of us could really oppose it. So maybe it was for the better, that he was killed, in the end, despite this is not a solution I would prefer. But I dislike, that they keep trying to use him, even after he died. For his sake, for our people's sake – this should be over, once and for all. No more investigations, no more discussions of what should and what shouldn’t be done. Prowl understands it. He decided he will not be searching for this “Orion”, whoever he was. But the Council doesn’t want to stop. And that disgusts me. They want to use something, that is not theirs. They want to use our past, our history, one of us, who did what he did, but he is dead. Let him remain dead.”

Miko sighed.

“This is not possible,” she said.

“No, it is not. Because we are here because of Megatron, and what he had done will have its consequences many years after we all are dead. Forgetting him is not possible. Even after his death, we will be always live in his shadow. But I don’t want the aliens to use his death. They already used him when they demanded that we gave him to the Galactic Council.”

Was it sadness in ‘Bee’s voice? A hit of bitterness and regret. The same thing Miko heard when they had been talking the previous time

“I’m sorry… I’d love to help with that, really. I would love to make them stop using it and fighting over it. Ugh. Lanxi told me she wanted to make this place burn...” Miko grimaced. “I don’t even know why, but part of me wants to think she was right. But I talked with the captain who brought me here and I saw the Council does many good things. And Governor Sherle wants the station to be a safe place and he supports additional patrolling ships. And all of them are right, more or less. And I want out. I’m not asking you for help,” she assured him. Damn, she wanted to have someone here she could ask for help. But escaping was not a solution, not now. “I’m sorry. And… thank you for the tea,” she smiled.

This might have been an illusion, but she felt a little better now. And while her previous night was unpleasant, she slept better now, despite the fact, that she woke up hugging a rolled blanket again – in the instinct of searching for another person close to her.

***

The next invitation Miko had received was to watch the council’s meeting. The allied species, that still didn’t have full council membeship were encouraged to send their diplomats to those meetings from time to time and although Miko was no diplomat, ambassador Rosales must have convinced some Councilmember to issue an invitation.

Last time it had been general Faireborn, who was invited. There was still no human ambassador at the station then.

Of course Marissa Faireborn then and probably Michael Rosales sometimes now had the opportunity to speak to the Council. Miko was here just to watch. This was still a privilege.

This was a terribly boring experience as well.

Miko was not a politician, she never strived to be. She spent hours there, not even sure if she was allowed to leave to the toilet, and this started to be a real need soon enough. So she tried not to squirm in her chair and concentrate on whatever the Council was debating on, but it was mostly economic issues, mostly boring, although probably important. Miko had too little context and too little knowledge of the economy and interplanetary export to understand those though.

She tried to watch the Councilmembers though and other observers. On the other side of a very large hall, she noticed a familiar-looking glimpse of blue and white.

There was more than one species, who could have blue skin as a variant white hair seemed to be quite common. But the more Miko focused on the person on the other side, the more she was convinced she sees a Foria. She decided to find them after the meeting was over.

Which took lots and lots of time and after it ended, the priority was to look for a bathroom. Meanwhile, the blue-skinned alien disappeared in the multispecies crowd.

Miko left the room, uncertain how to politely ask about the bathroom – and it was her indecision that doomed her.

“Lieutenant Nakadai Miko” she heard a voice.

She saw Nasiyaan, one of the Councilmembers she had met before. They were one of the nicest ones, but that didn’t make Miko trust them.

She smiled politely.

“Councilmember Nasiyaan”

Damn. Let me go to the bathroom, she thought.

“What a fortunate meeting.” The councilmember bowed, which looked a little clumsy considering their wide, massive body.

Miko bowed back.

“May I steal you for a moment, lieutenant?” the Councilmember asked.

For a moment Miko considered to be her worst, most blunt self and just tell outright, that she needed to find a bathroom first. Then she thought of possible diplomatic incidents. She was not here to cause ones.

Damn. The longer all this mess will last, the highest are the chances I will just start to be myself, she thought.

“Yes, of course.”

Councilmember Nasiyaan was larger, but not very big. They reminded Miko captain Zovvosk – were they the same species? Possibly.

Behind their shoulder, Miko noticed Councilmember Iastrar and Councilmember Lanxi. They looked disappointed.

Oh, great.

But at least Nasiyaan saved Miko from Lanxi.

“How do you find the meeting?” Nasiyaan asked.

“I’m not an expert on the economy, Councilmember.”

“Of course. It must have been boring for you” they agreed. “You are a person of action and principles.”

Principles? What the fuck? Was it a mistranslation, an idiom, a suggestion maybe?

Miko coughed.

“I...”

Nasiyaan led her through corridors, avoiding the people leaving the hall.

“You are a soldier in the service of your people and of peace in the Galaxy.”

Oh, just stop. Stop all of you, Miko wanted to scream.

She remained silent.

“And I,” Nasiyaan continued “am deeply grateful for your service and for all you had done for us.”

“I keep hearing and keep hearing that,” Miko said, “I might even start to believe it.”

“You are a modest one then… I know I go against some rules, but we all break rules sometime in the service of greater good… I wanted to thank you personally for what you had done. The Galaxy is much safer now thanks to you.”

Miko let out a nervous giggle.

“I have no idea what you are trying to imply, Councilmember. Can you speak more directly, please?”

They looked Miko in the eye.

“Your general Marissa Faireborn, a brave soul, a true warrior for interstellar peace, sent you to us the one who performed the violent, but necessary act.”

Miko laughed nervously again.

“It was not me. You know the reports.”

“It wouldn’t be necessary without you, and for that, I am grateful, as the whole Galaxy should be. I want you to know, lieutenant, you are in a dangerous place and I am aware, that some would see this act as being a transgression against the law, against order… but it was done in the defense of us all and to end both the danger to us all, as well as the unnecessary cruelty. I know some would like to discover, which of us were involved… I know they will be reaching out to you, in the hope you will give them this information. I want you to know, that you can always find my help.”

I could also tell the others, that you were the part of the conspiracy, Miko thought.

She wouldn’t do it – but it was a little tempting.

Lanxi said she wanted to see the station burn. Well, a little part of Miko would enjoy it too. Only then the entire universe would start burning as well and Miko didn’t wish for that.


	21. Chapter 21

It turned out not to be that easy to meet Starscream on purpose. The situation from the previous time was a chance meeting, now the Senator seemed to be occupied and it seemed that the biggest challenge was not convincing him, but get to him. The message Sari received was polite but seemed generic, a message sent by the office, that yes, the senator will see when it is possible to meet, but for now, Sari has to wait.

“I think there are two kinds of people who want to see Starscream,” Slipstream commented. “Those who are patient enough to wait, and those, who just try to kill him.”

“Was it like this when he was in the senate before the war?”

“I don’t remember. I only know he was not my commander yet.”

There was no way at the moment to use Windblade as the way to get to Starscream because she was on Earth currently. It must have been a tough job, that demanded sharing her time between two planets, governing the enclave on one, and deal with the political problems on the other.

Sari did a little research to understand the structure of the government and Cybertronian society, and she wasn’t entirely surprised when she found an article authored by Nautica. She seemed to be interested in many aspects of social sciences and was doing a fair share writing texts that explained the Cybertronian society and culture to the aliens, humans included.

According to Nautica, during the war only two factions were shaping the Cybertronian politics, despite the others – neutrals and mecha from colonies – existed. In the first years after the war, the colonist and neutrals started to gain influence. With the destruction of the original planet and with its alternate version appearing, new factions emerged, among them the supporters of the Functionist philosophy and the rebels. The tensions between the six factions needed to be addressed and dealt with and there was never a good solution and outlawing any of the factions, deeming any of them the evil one would only endanger the fragile balance.

This was something Jae Park already mentioned and it was something, that explained a lot of things that Sari already noticed. This society was struggling to reshape itself in a way, that would be something else than an oppressive regime or neverending war.

Aside from learning more about the planet, Sari was searching the way to contact some mecha. As it turned out – not without Swivel’s help – most of the mecha living on the planet had something, that was called a public frequency and what was an equivalent of phone number and email address. One could send a message to this frequency using either their inbuilt devices – when one was a mech themselves – or outside communicators. Sari decided to use Ratri – this was just showing her as a source better and allowed Slipstream to monitor every message. She sent one to Starscream, knowing the answer probably won’t be quick if any. The other two were sent to Nautica and Minimus Ambus.

It was the last one of those mecha, who answered.

I don’t know if I can help you, but I know someone who might be able to, the message said. Then there was an invitation to meet at the location that turned out to be Minimus’ apartment.

For the first time since she came to Cybertron Sari saw a space created for the locals that were not much larger than her. The entire building seemed to be created for the minibots, so she had relatively little problems with entering here. Of course, a larger mech – although probably not many very large ones – would also be able to enter, this space was created especially for the smallest Cybertronians.

“I finally can talk someone face to face without walking on furniture,” she said, as Minimus Ambus invited her inside.

He nodded.

“It is difficult, especially when you got already used to being one of the large ones,” he admitted.

She recalled the picture that Verity Carlo showed them back on Earth.

“It was better to be large, I suppose?” she asked.

“It is complicated. I was forged small and spent most time of my life like this, but when I took the Ultra Magnus mantle, I had not only the size but also the power and authority… I got used to it. It hat became… my personality, actually. When I decided it is time for Ultra Magnus to finally die, I needed to get used to my real size again. It was a shock, so I can imagine, what mecha… and other people… who were always small. Come in, I’m glad that you are fairly comfortable here.

There were pictures on the walls of the apartment, Sari noticed. Minimus must have been sentimental. The first one Sari noticed was a picture of Verity, because it stood off, the only human face among all the mechanical ones. Verity was a little younger, she had deep bags under her eyes but she was smiling widely, with the tip of her tongue sticking out her mouth. Sari giggled, because of this gesture, this stubborn confidence was not very unlike Miko.

There were pictures of many other mecha, many of whom Sari could not recognize. On one of them, Minimus was together with a larger mech with facial features formed so that it looked like the mech had a mustache and beard – not unlike Minimus’ own mustache. The larger mech’s hand was holding a hand of another minibot, whose face was hidden behind a blue visor and red mask. Minimus himself stood a little behind those two and looked grumpy.

The next picture was not a picture, but a short clip – an animated gif of sorts? – looped on a small, flat screen. It was interesting because it showed two four-legged, slightly canine mechanical creatures covered in spikes, running together. Were there any “animals” on Cybertron?

Then there was a picture with many mecha on it and Sari recognized some of them. They looked at the camera and most of them were smiling – some obviously couldn’t because of a lack of visible mouth, but it seemed that the picture was made in some good moment of their lives when they were happy together.

The mech in the center had probably the widest smile. His plating was shiny, bright oranges, red and yellow, flame pattern painted on the pauldrons. Around them, there were others. Sari recognized Ratchet, but when she searched for Drift – he was not there. She noticed Cyclonus and Tailgate sitting on his shoulder. Whirl staring into the camera with a single eye. Nautica clinging to the arm of an unknown blue mech. Minimus Ambus, as himself, with an uncomfortable expression on his face. Megatron, behind them, a looming shadow, but there was also a shade of faint smile on his face.

She saw many others, including an orange minibot with face and googles resembling Swivel’s, a pair of two mecha with their faces covered – one of them was the minibot who on one of the previous pictures stood with the mech with “beard” – and hands weaved together, a light blue mech behind Nautica and her companion, smiling, and then there was another mech with their face not visible anymore because this part of the photograph was covered with scribbles and scratches as if someone tried to remove the mech.

Sari shook her head.

“This must be the Lost Light” she guessed

Some things were falling into their places.

And when she looked at those mecha here she knew they were happy like this. Then fate separated them, some of them were probably dead. One was considered dead. Some of them were together with their loved ones. Some…

They must have missed this. Missed each other. They looked happy here.

As she was looking at the picture, she heard footsteps and engine humming behind her – a mech larger, than Minimus Ambus was. As she turned around, the mech was kneeling down already. He was the one from the center of the photo, with flames all over his plating. He was looking form above, a questioning glance of blue eyes.

Behind him Sari noticed Minimus Ambus, he must have invited his friend in as she was looking at this little gallery.

“Hi there,” he said. “You must be one of those two humans I always keep hearing about?”

“Hi. Yes. I’m Sari.”

“I’m Rodimus” the mech extended his hand as if he wanted to shook Sari’s. Then he realized this would be a little hard. “Sorry. My bad.”

“It’s all right. I am used to it by now,” Sari answered. “I was looking at the pictures… And I thought that I had met many people already who were there with you,” she pointed at the group picture “But I know almost nothing of the story behind it.”

Rodimus looked at her for a while.

“We were...” he turned towards the picture again. “I talked Minimus to get out his armor for the picture. He really didn’t want to at the moment. He was too used to the Ultra Magnus persona… I convinced Megs to join us. This was hard. He was all “no, I’m not going to be on the family picture because I’m not family, but he is here…” Rodimus sighed. “I hated it when we had to take him with us. I hope he is happy now. In the Afterspark, that is. This was Getaway,” Rodimus said the name as a curse when he pointed at the face that was scratched away. “He is dead. If we knew back then… Drift is not here, and that was my fault. I’m happy he and Ratchet found each other. They fit well together. Tailgate and Cyclonus weren’t together back then, and it was just before Getaway… Well, but they are close to each other in the picture. Skids died, this could have been avoided...” he pointed at the mech standing close to Nautica. “And this...” his finger stopped over the small orange mech with blue googles. “Frag, why it is so hard to remember? It’s fading away every time, and it shouldn’t. Rung. His name was Rung. I think he doesn’t want us to remember, but how can we not remember… He is dead, of course… why do I have a feeling he is not?” Rodimus shook his head. “It always slips away and I’m afraid in the end we will all forget… I don’t want to forget. This was the happiest time of my life, despite everything.”

He was smiling at the picture, Sari noticed, but he wasn’t smiling now.

He smiled again when he looked at her again. She had an impression he looked a little longer at her new eye, noticing that it is off and something average human doesn’t have.

“And now I’m here, trying to do something with the mess this planet is. It is a little because of me it is here, the New Cybertron, I mean. Well, this is more something Megs did for us, but, I helped, kind of.”

“And you feel responsible.” Sari guessed.

“I’m kind of trapped. Too much mess, here and in my life. A curse, I think. I wanted to have an interesting life, so, well, here I am,”

Was that a hint of bitterness in his voice? From the picture, from the way he smiled, he gave the impression of a cheerful and charismatic person.

***

“I wanted to show you something, Minimus,” Rodimus said then he looked towards Sari. “Only I don’t know how boring is must have be for a human. This is our political issue...”

“I researched your society recently,” Sari said. “It was interesting. If this isn’t anything I shouldn’t see, then its all right. And I should understand it,” she added, pointing at her implant eye. “This would be a great opportunity to check the translation program. Well?”

“She is already a little involved in politics, Rodimus. The incident with terrorists, remember?” Minimus reminded his friend.

Rodimus sighed.

“I would love to forget all the mess afterward.”

Minimus smiled and patted him on the forearm.

“At least Starscream managed not to make the mess bigger,” he said.

It was fascinating, Sari thought, was how their fields interacted. Sari saw it before – with Ratchet and Drift and then with Megatron and Optimus. They moved against each other, fluctuating, brushing in an almost intimate way. But those two weren’t intimate – not in a way Sari saw previously. And the field didn’t overlap, only extended, brushing, and retracting again, like they were probing each other.

Was it something they even were aware of?

“Somehow.”

“He is learning.”

“This is not comforting, Mims, you know that?”

“You are learning as well. Working with him and Windblade is hard, but I see your progress. Now, let’s see what you have.”

“This was not publicly shown,” Rodimus said, connecting some kind of a device to a large screen “But I guess she is going to make a similar speech openly, one day. I want you to know… that she is not even hiding anymore.”

She? Sari thought. Not even hiding?

Shatter crossed her mind, but it was not Shatter whom she saw on a screen.

The mech seemed large, with wide shoulders and angular face. The only thing in her that a human could think of as “feminine” was the dark pink of her paint but paired with black and golden details and the overall shape of the mech it looked intimidating.

“I am aware, that many of you believe the order we managed to keep for the past millions of years to be something bad. I won’t deny, that many things the late Functionist Council did were misuse of the authority. I cannot deny, that many of us were harmed by the actions the Functionist Council had undertaken… And those were mistakes, that should be fixed. But, does it excuse the way strangers try to control our lives and our planet? They came from a parallel universe, bringing their destruction with them. They brought war to our peaceful planet – the war they were not able to contain for the millennia, now on our doorstep. The peace we had – destroyed by the same homicidal warmongering maniac, that had previously devastated his own universe! And some of us believed him and followed him, and because of that, the late Functionist Council was forced to act against their own people. But it was only the beginning of the tragedy because now our planet and our peaceful society need to deal not only with one war criminal but with the entire society of this universe, a society composed of war criminals, of mecha, who are unable to function during peace. And I grieve for them, for the tragedy that caused them to lose their own planet, their own Cybertron, but does it excuse their action, when they invade our home when they try to decide for us, to control us? They claim they are here to help us, but what are they doing else, then taking control, taking our planet from us? Sooner or later they will start a war – against the organics or worse, against us – and if that happens, then we are doomed. Or even worse: they will unleash another ancient evil upon us, like the one that destroyed their own planet. We need to take radical steps, we need to defend ourselves- with our voices and protests because we have not enough military power. We won’t stop them from having their colonies or their outpost on Earth, but we will not let them have our planet! Cybertron, this Cybertron, is ours! It had always been! We will not let the terrorist, warmongers, followers of Primacy, rebels against social order we had built have it!”

Sari was looking at this with fascination. The mech was speaking with conviction and passion, and she must have believed what she was speaking.

“Well,” Sari said. “This is messed up.”

Minimus sighed.

“I see the point, Rodimus,” he said. “The worst thing? She is right in so many things. Most of us forgot how peace looks like, some of us nad never experienced it when we were forged just before the war started. And, to be honest, Cybertron before the war was not a good place. This planet we are on now, the “New Cybertron” as we call it – it managed to built peace…”

“For what price,” Rodimus added.

He wasn’t happy.

“For some mecha this price is not too high. They are afraid and they don’t want us to intervene. Can we blame them? We are almost alien to them. You must have seen, Sari, how the natives look like: they are civilians, not built for war.”

“Well, she looks more like you” Sari pointed at the mech on the screen. She had impressive pauldrons and her armor looked thick on par with most of the “old” Cybertronians Sari had met.

“She was upgraded to be a general when the Functionists felt endangered. The entire Functionist Council was wiped out, most of the other civilian politicians on this planet...” Minimus shook his head “They were unable to make decisions on their own, to act in the crisis. Frontliner seized power then.”

“Oh. A military coup.” Sari guessed.

“Yes. Exactly this.”

Sari laughed.

“And she is telling them, that she wants to protect them from the war? This is nice. Earth’s history knows such people. They want to protect you from the “strangers”, from those who are other, different. It usually ends with dictatorship.”

“Did the humans learned this lesson?” Minimus asked. There was no malice in his voice – only curiosity.

“No, not exactly. Not at all, I am afraid” Sari sighed. “I see the problem. And I see that you intervening too much in the planet’s affairs is dangerous…”

“But we cannot leave it like this at the same time,” Rodimus said. “This is just too much mess.”

“Where is Starscream in this?”

Minimus looked at Rodimus, who, in turn, made a strange sound Sari was not exactly able to interpret.

“He wants power. He always wants power…”

“You are not telling her the truth, Roddy” Minimus said.

Rodimus looked at him angrily and for a brief moment, his field exploded with something intense.

“What should I tell her? He is a narcissistic aft, but at the same time he is very unhappy, and what he really needs is not power, but attention. But it doesn’t help, you know. And this is not what you would need.”

“Where does he stands in relation to her?” Sari pointed at Frontliner’s face on the screen.

“Oh, she is a Functionist, she doesn’t call herself that and she doesn’t say that she wants to keep Functionism as a social philosophy here, but that is exactly what is she doing,” Minimus explained.

“And you can say many things about Starscream, but he will never support Functionism.”

Because he was constructed cold, Sari remembered. Because for people like Frontliner he is not much more, than a drone.”

“But he was a Decepticon and Megatron’s second in command. He might have rejected that, but many people won’t trust him… and he already was involved in politics and messed up… he tries his best” was it Sari’s imagination, or was Rodimus a little… fond of Starscream? “But not everyone trusts him. And he is not alone. Frontliner spoke about “followers of the Primacy”… she meant the Autobots, but she also meant me specifically.”

Minimus frowned.

“You think so?”

“Who else?” Rodimus shook his head. “I regret more and more than I had gotten into all this. Thunderclash offered me to join him on  _ Vis Vitalis _ , and I could do so… But, slag it, I wanted to be a responsible mech and I wanted to…”

“Roddy,” there it was again, their fields interacting as if in conversation. And Minimus put his hand, small and green, on his friends – were they just friends? - the larger yellow one. “You’re doing a good job. And you are not alone, you know that, right? You will have our support – always.”

“I know, I...” Rodimus started, then looked at Sari and his expression was embarrassed. “Sorry! I forgot for a moment you are here!”

“I’m small, I understand you can sometimes forget about someone as small,” Sari said, then she looked towards Minimus and now it was her who was embarrassed as much, as the two Cybertronians.

Some times, she thought, I need to remember, that there are smaller mecha around here, some of them barely larger than me, and it seems there is a problem with the size here that nobody really wants to address. And it exists on top of many, many other issues.

She smiled widely, trying to hide this embarrassment.

“So,” she said “Rodimus, you mentioned Starscream… Good for me, because I’m currently trying to get to him.”

***

So here she was – eye to eye with Starscream again. Not that he was intimidating, not that she met Megatron himself and not after everything she heard about Starscream from the others. He was not going to hurt her, but he was not going to be easy to convince.

Rodimus knew it, his attempts (he called it attempts – Minimus Ambus believed his friend is getting better and better) at political involvement had pushed him into an alliance with Windblade and Starscream – both of them already had lots of experience, as well as messed up relationship. Keeping up with them, having Windblade’s support and Starscreams… apparently not-support must have been hard.

It also was an advantage for Sari right now, as Rodimus was the one who finally helped her reach Starscream.

So here she was, again speaking to the mech who had been once Slipstream’s commander – and who had been many, many other things as well.

“I was intrigued when I first got your message,” he admitted. “And then Rodimus told me...” he winced mentioning the other mech. “I believe your partner was very unhappy with our last meeting and it didn’t end exactly as I hoped it to go… And now I got the message from you with the information that you have something for me? Well, I’m always open to cooperation. I’m sorry that you had to wait, I hope it didn’t waste too much of your precious time?”

He sounded calm and reasonable, and the shrill tone in his voice was a little less prominent at the moment.

Sari also decided to be as professional, as she could.

“Thank you for meeting with me, senator. Yes, the last time was not very fortunate, but considering that during the war humans who crossed paths in you used to end up in the worse state, I can consider it progress,” she started, and when Starscream’s vocalizer hissed at the mention of the past, she continued. “Pretending, that I’m not aware of who you are or that I wasn’t warned would be ignoring the obvious thing. I know who you are, what your position was. I have no issues with that, because I also know, that at the moment you are supporting the alliance between our people and you had proven during our previous meeting, that you will not put us in danger. My partner was irritated that day. She is not here at the moment. I was warned that negotiation in you is a terrible idea, but I know you are reasonable,” she noticed a pleased smile on Starscream’s face. Great. Speak to his ego, show the situation in a way, where he will see his gain in what you are planning. “I also heard, that in the past, despite all the conflicts you had with the other members of the command and all the mistreatment that happened, your direct subordinates were in a good position, because you actually cared for them.”

“You are a sly little thing” Sari heard Slipstream’s amused voice in her ear. “Damn you.”

It is going to work, Sari thought.

It is Satarscream or nothing at the moment.

She took a deep breath, using the fact, that there was atmospheric control in the office.

“As a matter of fact, the person, who told me that was one of your Seekers and I’m speaking on that person’s behalf. Her name is Slipstream and you probably have information that she died on Earth,” she omitted the information that apparently Starscream was present by Slipstream’s death. “My partner and I discovered, that she is not dead.”

She told the story, omitting some fragments, like Blackout’s involvement in discovering Slipstream’s identity or the meeting with Shatter, and definitely the asteroid visit.

“Long story short,” she finished, “We have promised help from one of the medics, but we need a body and someone, who will design it. This is the point when I’m asking you for help for Slipstream.”

Starscream looked at her for a while. His field fluctuated with multiple frequencies. He is surprised, Sari realized, he didn’t expect anyone asking him for help, especially not a human, especially not in such weird circumstances.

“You want me to help him?”

“Her” hissed Slipstream in Sari’s ear.

“Her” Sari corrected.

“Her” Starscream agreed. Apparently, he had no issue with using another pronoun, that the one he was used to. He smiled. “Slipstream, Slipstream… there was a Seeker of this name.”

“Blackout and Redwing were her Trine.”

“Blackout” Starscream hissed. His field flared. “The incompetent, two-faced, treacherous idiot!”

Mind whom you call treacherous, Sari thought.

Starscream focused his eyes on her again. They were purple now, but he must have been red-eyed in the past, like most of his faction.

“There is an investigation against me, because of Blackout’s incompetence and stupidity. And” something dangerous vibrated in Starscream’s voice “because of you, human, as I learned as you left me. You didn’t consider to inform me, that Prowl is after me.”

Miko would say something cutting here. Sari was a diplomat.

“I’m terribly sorry about the situation. I am aware that it is a problem for you...”

“He tries to destroy all my efforts in making this planet a better place. Of stopping this Frontliner, and her Functionist supporters.”

Starscream was angry, but he must have known better than to kill an unfortunate human who was in his office. Just in case, Sari moved a little away… not that it would help her if Starscream changed his mind.

“I’m sorry about that, again. Blackout followed us because he thought we had stolen something from him. We are victims of unfortunate circumstances here.”

“Of course” Starscream was getting calmer now. He suppressed his flaring field as if he was expecting his conversation partner to read it. But he couldn’t know that Sari had this program built in her mechanical eye. “Those circumstances, however, are unfortunate for me as well. And as a consequence, I have no reason to help you.”

“He would help only if he was pressed against the wall” Slipstream hissed.

But Sari wasn’t going to give up.

“Slipstream was one of your subordinates. You should take responsibility for her.”

“She died on Earth. I did everything to protect my seekers back then, but, alas, it is not possible to keep everyone alive, when you are at war.”

“Well, she remembers it differently.”

“Oh? How then?”

“According to Slipstream, you left her to die.”

Starscream laughed and he laughed loudly. His field was situated close to his body now, and Sari’s program indicated it was “smug”.

“That is what Slipstream had told you, little human? Oh, this is great. And had she told you, what kind of a mission was she participating that day?”

“Frag” Sari heard Slipstream in her ear. “He has no right...”

But Starscream was leaning towards Sari, smiling widely.

“Little human, we made a ride against one of your facilities that day. Your Slipstream was very valiant that day and she took down several of your flying units… I presume they had their pilots? Oh, she also happened to shoot at one large civilian vehicle on the way… She wasn’t concerned about your people at all. Had she ever told you that.”

“He has no right...” Slipstream repeated. “He has no right...”

Sari took a deep breath. Those were the things she didn’t want to ask Slipstream. Not that it was surprising. Only that Starscream tried to use it to cause pain.

“I know she was a Decepticon. I guess she killed humans. I guess she killed her own people as well. Do you think that she doesn’t deserve to have her body back? But if she doesn’t deserve it, then probably you don’t deserve your life as well.”

Starscream’s eyes narrowed.

“You are trying to threaten me?” he asked.

“I have no reason to threaten you. I have nothing against you. The war is over. I guess you all people had already gotten over it?” she asked, slowly. “Some of you still need help. Slipstream needs help. Let me help her.”

“I’m not stopping you from helping her. But I see no reason why should I get involved.”

“This is pointless” Sari heard Slipstream. “Just leave him. If he doesn’t want it, then just leave him. This is Starscream, not a charity institution.”

“No!” Sari protested. “Listen Starscream, I think I know how you can profit from this. We can make it in a way, that will make you look good. Listen, Slipstream told me you were one of the best commanders than a Decepticon could have. That you took care of your people… well, more than the others...” this was a good direction, because Sari noticed a smile on Starscream’s face. Good. Now follow this “You can show that you care for your former subordinates.”

“For the Decepticons. I’m not sure, if you had noticed, human, but I’m not a Decepticon anymore” He pointed at his chest, where usually the faction insignia should be.

“So what? They once went with you, if I’m not mistaken? You had recruited the Seekers?”

Starscream winced and this was a good sign. Sari continued:

“They followed you. Show that you care. This is good for your public reactions. Besides… if you are against Funcionists, and as I know you always were… supporting your former subordinates will make you look good. Besides… what happened with sentio metallico Blackout was smuggling for you?”

“Why would I tell you, human?”

Sari shrugged.

“I have no ways to retrieve it myself, to really steal it for you. Do you have it or not? I won’t be telling Prowl. I have no interest in it. Well?”

“I know where it is.”

Sari nodded.

“Good. Did you have any plan on how to use it?”

Starscream remained silent. His field was muted now.

Sari smiled.

“No plans, I see.”

“I needed to retrieve it. It was an old stash, we got it during the war...” he stopped for a moment. “During the war. This is all you need to know.”

“At the moment I don’t care whom did you melt and who gave the order. Listen, this is my offer: you give the sentio for Slipstream’s new body. You make it in a way, that everyone knows it. You are sending a message: look, those humans had found one of us, she was a victim of a horrible experiment, but the humans want to fix this. I am also willing to fix it, I’m giving this sentio metallico. We did horrible things, horrible things were done to us, but we are getting over it. I’m taking care of my former subordinates. I will take care of any mech, who was wronged in some way. How does it sound?”

Starscream frowned. He was thinking, the field around him swirled with colors and frequencies.

Sari decided to use one last card she had.

“Think what would your trine do.”

This was a mistake.

Suddenly she has Starscream’s enormous face centimeters from her, eyes glowing shade of purple, that was a little closer to red than before.

“You know nothing about my trine” he hissed.

“Ooooh, ask him!” Slipstream suggested. She sounded amused now.

I don’t think this is a good idea, Sari thought. She couldn’t send the message to Slipstream at the moment.

“I know nothing,” she said. “I know trines are important to you. I know Miko and I are Slipstream’s trine at the moment. I’m sorry if you lost your trine.”

“They had left me.”

“Because he was a stupid glitch, obviously” Slipstream laughed in Sari’s ear.

“I’m sorry, Starscream. I really am. What happened?”

He straightened, so he wasn’t as awfully close to Sari’s face right now. He shrugged.

“Just happened.”

“I won’t be asking anymore. But you can always send them a message as well. If you wronged them, then, well, you can always apologize? You need them”

“Listen, human” he hissed. “I see your point of how helping Slipstream can be good for me. I will do it. But you – you need to stop asking about my trine, do you understand it? I will consider your offer. Wait for a decision.”

***

“Well, that went quite well.” Sari decided.

At least something was moving forward, despite the fact Starscream didn’t say “yes” outright. But Slipstream agreed: she didn’t expect him to even listen to Sari.

“I expected it to be worse” she admitted.

“He needs every support he can get” Sari reminded. She remembered the speech she listened to previously. It was nothing good, and Sari really was worried about this messed-up planet already. Come on, the Cybertronians deserved some healing and peace, not going from one war to the other, from one dictatorship to the other. Those, whom Sari and Miko had met by far were doing quite well – they didn’t deserve for anyone to mess it up.

And the newsparks like Swivel also didn’t deserve to deal with the consequences of all the mess the previous generations caused.

Especially that Swivel was very patient with taking Sari everywhere. Patient, quiet, easily blending into the background. She easily was forgetting, that Swivel was even there. Which was unfair. There was something calming in them. Their EM field was neutral and muted. And Sari was treating Swivel as a means of transport, she realized suddenly. Just… objectifying them.

Damn.

“I should find a way to thank you,” she said, as Swivel took her back to the dome and returned to their root mode.

“Why?” they asked. “It is my job to take care of the guests.”

“I might be the most problematic guest you had here by now,” Sari said. “I don’t think even the ambassador travels that much in so many random directions.”

Swivel looked at her with those round, teal eyes. She had seen a person looking like this somewhere, recently… this was something significant, wasn’t it…?

Yes, she remembered, a little orange mech on the picture with the Lost Light crew. Rodimus said, he keeps forgetting his name, despite the mech was important. He was also supposed to be dead.

This shouldn’t be significant, right? Some Cybertronias shared the same face. Some were build or modified using the same design.

But Swivel was created just recently and Sari doubted they were deliberately created to look like a mech who died sometime before.

“The ambassador has other employees. And we don’t have many guests here. This is always interesting – and I have the opportunity to learn something, meet new people.”

“Politicians.” Sari pointed out.

“That, too. You will have an influence on what this planet will look like.”

“And some of your people will be angry if they learn it.”

Sari wanted to disagree because getting involved with Cybertronian politics was not something she wanted to do – but she was there already. At the moment when Miko told her what happened. At the moment, when she was testifying to Prowl. When she decided she will give Starscream something that will be good for his public image.

Swivel shrugged.

“We all interact, and influence one another. We should stay totally separated to avoid any influence, I guess. But my generation is the newest one, we can just watch the others. We did not experience what they did.”

“Do you think that makes you wiser?”

They shrugged again.

“We are a little like children. I am only a few years old. You expect too much from me, Sari.”

“A five-years-old human cannot make a decision for themselves.”

“I know. And I cannot understand that. You live a hundred years at best. This is why it is interesting for me, to go with you. I can get as much experience as possible.”

They smiled and it might have been only Sari’s imagination, but this smile was a little childish now.

Swivel was a weird creature, with much wisdom, but a child’s curiosity. In a way, the seemed more alien, Sari decided, than any other Cybertronian she had met by far.

They reminded her of Ratri, a little. Of the curious Ratri, new to the world, willing to experience everything, reaching out for contact. This Ratri didn’t exist anymore and Sari felt sadness.

Time to say goodbye to Swivel then. Sari wanted to spend the evening on the ship anyway – now it seemed that she needed to confront herself with unwanted feelings.

She used the elevator to the landing-place above the dome. When the ships hatch closed behind her, Sari found herself sliding down to the floor. She sat there for a long moment, in silence.

The person inside the ship waited until she decided to speak:

“Are you all right? I thought you were happy because you almost convinced Starscream...”

“I… I am lonely.”

She recalled Rodimus’ voice when he had been talking about his old ship. The longing. He kept the picture of the crew and wasn’t smiling when he explained who was who – despite him being a person who seemed to smile a lot.

He had this – and lost it. Some of his friends died.

For Starscream, mentioning his trine evoked something he didn’t want to discuss with a stranger.

Sari was thinking of it and she thought, again, of losing her loved ones, her family, her “trine”. Miko was away, and Sari had no idea what was happening with her. Ratri… Ratri didn’t exist. Not that she died or was destroyed, but the person talking from inside of the ship now was more Slipstream than the old Ratri.

Talking to her was different than talking to Ratri before.

“I am with you” she heard a voice. “I promised you.”

You are, Sari thought, but maybe one day you would like to leave me. I am not of your kind. My life will end soon, for your standards.

It was easier, when there was Ratri around, a new person, a child.

It was easier, when there was Miko around, a constant in her life, her best friend, the love of her life.

“You are. And you are not. This planet is messed up and I hate it” Sari felt the tears on her cheeks. “I mean, no, I don’t hate it, but I cannot experience it, not really. And you and I are too different, and...”

“Is that what Starscream told you?” Slipstream’s voice was sharp. “About me killing human civilians?”

“No. I don’t care about those people” Sari wiped the tears with the back of her hand. She really didn’t care, which was cruel and horrible. “I just don’t want to be alone. You will have a body, soon. Miko… Miko is...”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I know. I know that I love you. This is now, this can change, but now I love you. Would you want to link with me? To be sure? To experience that?”

Sari’s heart jumped.

Oh, how tempting this was. To submerge herself again into the familiar presence, to be close to the other person in a way, that was usually not possible. To experience it again, the intimacy, the subtle, weird eroticism of this closeness.

She shook her head slowly.

“I’d love to. I can’t.”

“Because of Miko?”

“Yes.”

“She wouldn’t like you to feel lonely. I can give you that. I can give you solace. And I miss it myself. I am lonely too. I’m on my own planet… to a degree, yes, but when I watch it, I’m getting glimpses. And I feel the need to go there, interact, I miss… I never thought I would, but I miss the little fragments of my life before the war. This was not much, you know, I spent most of it in the barracks… but there were parts I miss… I miss my trine. My old trine – and you.”

“I understand” Sari nodded.

“Please, Sari, my love” Slipstream’s voice was almost begging. “We can give it to each other. We are incomplete, yes, but I don’t want it to fall apart. I lost Redwing and then I lost Blackout. I don’t want to lose you.”

I already lost you, Sari though. And then I found you. And I cannot understand how it happened.

She stood up.

“All right.”

I will regret it, she thought, when she was plugging in, for the first time in long, so very long.

So many things had happened since then. So many things she had learned.

She went into the link with all her longing and sadness, with her loneliness, and fear and regret, but Slipstream didn’t hide her pain either: the isolation, and loneliness, and longing for what was lost long ago, and fear, the awareness, that Sari was a human being and her life was brief. That Miko was a human being as well and her fragile organic life might have been in danger. The little pieces of anger. The little pieces of something, that was desire, but Slipstream muted it and Sari didn’t search for it. Not now.

But they were together in this, in loneliness and fear.

I was afraid again that I lost you, Sari admitted.

I am here, you know it.

Yes. And I see you. You are still my Ratri. And you are you.

I was afraid you will never link with me again.

Many thinks had happened.

For Sari, it was a blink – a memory of confusion after she woke up with her head hurting and eye unable to see, guilt, when she realized what happened, guilt, because she had seen Ratri – Slipstream – as something that belongs to her.

But I belong to you, we belong to each other.

There was so much conviction in what Slipstream was thinking, stronger, than Sari even expected. Despite everything, despite Slipstream’s past, despite meeting with Blackout…

...Blackout. The thoughts of them both drifted to him. Thinking of him invoked regret, longing. There was empty space, where Blackout and the third of them, Redwing, once were. Chains of coding, elaborately woven together, now broken.

You can have him back.

Maybe, but not if that means losing you.

But you can search for him, talk to him at least.

Sari thought of Starscream’s reaction when she mentioned his trine. Was it a shade of the same regret in Slipstream now?

Maybe. I don’t know. I cannot tell what happens to them. We will talk about it later. Please, Sari, we are here alone, you and I, don’t bring others.

And there was a wave of almost overwhelming affection and Sari could do nothing ales, but smile at it and respond with the same. It was like embracing each other, soft and warm, the feeling, you want to keep and you want to live in.

“I missed that,” Sari admitted, as they were out.

She might have fleed when the feeling of closeness and comfort drifted towards something more erotic. She was not ready to confront herself with that, not yet, maybe one day, after all, is sorted out.

“I was afraid you won’t do it again.”

“I considered that. I’m sorry. I know you need it. And I like it.”

This was a kind of closeness you couldn’t experience with another human being. Something very unique and Sari regretted that she will never be able to introduce Miko to this.

If they were to be a trine, an equivalent of one, then they had to be a very incomplete one.

Probably, they wouldn’t even be accepted as such by the other Seekers. Probably, most humans won’t understand what is going on here.

I don’t care, Sari thought, curling under the wall. I don’t care. I just want to be with both of them.

Slipstream felt empty without her trine. Sari felt empty without Miko and would feel empty without Slipstream.

“When you and Blackout and Redwing… you told, you had the programming from the beginning… how did it feel? You ware connected already?”

“Yes. I don’t think what I felt at the beginning was...” Slipstream hesitated “...any form of love.” These things came later, for all of us. Look different for all of us. But we all need it.”

“We are all made to love” Sari agreed.


	22. Chapter 22

Miko left Councilmember Nasiyaan thinking of what, if anything at all, should she do with her knowledge. Rosales would love to hear that – one of the participants of the conspiracy confirmed, leverage against them, and an argument to use by humans in their struggle for the new colony. Miko didn’t really have anything against humans having a colony, this would be a great way for humanity to stand on their own and find their place in the galaxy. Rosales wasn’t wrong and probably his actions were totally justified from the perspective of purely human interest. Only, when everyone acted on their interest only, without seeing the bigger picture…

Fuck. Miko didn’t want to be the one who saw this bigger picture and worked for it, where others failed. Her main skill was not to give up and not to let fear overcame her. Oh, and maybe using all the resources to kick ass when needed (And also playing an electric guitar, but she was terribly out of practice and this skill wouldn’t help). This was not enough to play political games. Prowl was right when he warned her, but Miko didn’t really have a choice. All she could do was to survive… and maybe, maybe to find someone who was able to see the bigger picture.

Ok, she knew one person who had this ability, but he was officially dead, so, scratch the first position from the list, search for another.

She needed a walk. Maybe this will help her gather thoughts. What did she know of the aliens here, of the Councilmembers? They were all aliens and she had no idea, how they can think, or if she could trust any of them. In the end, it could turn out that Lanxi was the best possible ally Miko could get among the Councilmembers… and this was not something that would be an as good outcome.

She strolled towards one of the pretty, lively parts of the station, filled with plants, shops and restaurants, and other venues, a center for commerce and for meetings. It was filled with people interacting – some of them only with their own species, others with the interspecies company.

This wasn’t a bad place at all, Miko thought again. People lived here and worked here and interacted and struggled to build a society that will avoid unnecessary strife. It was admirable and Lanxi’s idea, that the place should burn was unfair.

Miko passed by three people, two of them of the same species, the third of some other, sitting together, embracing. The way they touched one another seemed intimate to her. It might have been completely platonic, but Miko felt sudden sadness and longing. She thought of Sari – and of Slipstream. They didn’t manage to negotiate, how their relationship should develop, but Miko was already sure, that she cared about Slipstream enough to allow this negotiation.

A trine, heh? The idea was not that bad at all.

She tried not to stare, but one of the aliens noticed her and let out a sound she believed was a surprised giggle. But, just in case it was something hostile, she backed off, into the shade of multiple plants.

There, in a cafe – or something that worked similarly enough to cafes she knew from Earth to be called one – she saw a familiar silhouette. A slender humanoid dressed in a black robe, with a white crest on her head, black patterns covering her hands and face.

She froze for a moment before she approached. She hoped, oh, how she hoped it was Stne-Ahre she saw on the other side of the hall – and it was indeed her.

Stne-Ahre looked like she was waiting for someone and Miko hesitated – then the alien woman looked at her, smiled, and called her with the gesture of the tattooed hand.

“Nakadai Miko. Hello. I hoped you will appear, sooner or later. Sit,” she showed Miko the chair on the other side of the table. “The kassarian tea should be a safe choice for you if my research is to be trusted.”

Miko smiled. At least with Stne-Ahre she could allow herself some genuine smiles.

“You did the research… You knew I was here?”

“Yes. There is enough gossip and the Councilmembers talk… some of them talk more, thank they think they do, even when they are aware they are speaking with a telepath,” Stne-Ahre smirked. “Your concern was valid, and some people here are protected, but some seem to be careless. Well, would you take the tea?”

Miko sat down and nodded. Stne-Ahre called the avian waiter and made an order.

“I saw you in the meeting” Miko admitted. “I wanted to find you, but… Well, Councilmember Nasiyaan had other ideas.”

“I didn’t expect to meet you here,” Stne-Ahre admitted.

“I guess you have more reasons to visit this place. You are negotiating with the Council?”

“Yes. All the telepathically talented species were asked to provide their support, there is a new project concerning the safety from the race of being you had met in Kaschig’s Field.”

“Oh.”

This made sense.

“How is your family?” Miko asked. She didn’t want to continue the topic at the moment.

“They are good, I hope. I will send them your greetings. How is your partner?”

“Sari is on Cybertron” Miko answered and she must have sounded a little worried and concerned, or just her emotions were too strong for Stne-Ahre’s telepathic abilities to overlook them because Stne-Ahre asked:

“Did something happen?”

“Too many things” Miko admitted.

“You are afraid. Miko, what happened?”

“I’m not afraid,” she denied, then realized, that she is not able to hide it, not from Stne-Ahre. “I am,” she admitted. “A little. Usually, if I’m afraid I convert this fear...” she looked away for a moment, towards far too pleasant, far too pretty scenery surrounding the coffee. The green leaves and the fountain with some swimming creatures inside – the equivalent of goldfish – made the place calm and friendly. Only Miko didn’t saw it as friendly, and the presence of a person she hoped would provide her support made the situation even tenser. “...to anger. To action. Now I cannot act. I don’t know what to do, and what the others plan to do this.”

Stne-Ahre nodded.

“I see. And I have my suspicions about what caused those feelings. I heard rumors already, and you are the only person they could be about. I’m listening to the people here, Miko,” she pointed her head towards the rest of the commerce area. “They believe humans to be very brave beings and think this one human soldier, who got caught by the Decepticons and then escaped the anomaly, to be particularly heroic.”

“I wanted to be a hero. Not anymore. This is far too complicated.”

“I know. Your presence caused some events and...” Stne-Ahre shook her head. “Some of the Councilmembers are afraid. Some believe that this is their chance. And I think you should know that, Miko, because it will concern you. I was asked to help in an investigation...”

Miko held her breath. Stne-Ahre looked calm, but her deep, black eyes seemed to look inside Miko’s soul. They probably were.

Miko thought of Lanxi’s offer and of Lanxi’s promise to get into Miko’s head.

“...one of the Councilmembers and the chief of security want to know, who participated in the conspiracy.”

“Why? Why do they even look for this? Why won’t they leave it be? I believed they agreed this was the best possible outcome and decided to put with the investigation… Why are they even...”

“Because the Galactic Council wants to be lawful,” Stne-Ahre said.

“Lawful stupid, maybe.”

“Miko, going against their own law, their own judgment, against the agreement they had with an allied species, using other species,” black eyes pierced Miko “using sentiments and fears of the others to do the dirty job – this is against the Council’s principles. This investigation is not about finding, who put the device and pulled the trigger, but about corruption in the Council. Oh, this is also about the political games the Council plays.” Stne-Ahre snorted. “And they are using me now like they once used your general and you.”

Miko froze.

“I… I...”

“Miko, I’m not stupid and not blinded. You suggested yourself, that something more happened and I think you are protecting someone. I also think you were designated to pull the trigger, but for some reasons, you did not do it. I believe your reasons were valid. I will not go against you. I will not read your mind. The council is not interested in you, not even in your general. They want to fight against each other… some of them want war” Stne-Ahre snorted against “Rooting those out is also something worth trying. The Council will try to use me, but I’m not a new player in this game. And I need support for my people.”

“Everyone needs support for their people.”

“Yes,” Stne-Ahre agreed. “I talked with your ambassador Rosales already, asking him, how it is possible to both our species to go out of this stronger, with a stronger position. The Council is still an important force in this Galaxy and ignoring that would be a terrible mistake. If we are able to reduce the corruption…”

“If not at the cost of another war...”

“You are terribly afraid of this outcome,” Stne-Ahre noticed.

How much does she know? Miko thought. Everything she attempted to hide, brushed the surface.

“Miko,” the alien woman said. “Don’t. You have your reasons. They are valid. I will not go after your friends. I will not go after your partner either. I would ask you what you are so afraid of, what is this secret you are hiding… But I am aware you will not trust me. I don’t wish to invade your mind. I don’t wish to invade anyone’s mind,” she shook her head. “In the past, on our home planet that is lost to our people now, people like me were considered dangerous. We were trained as the tools of brutal interrogation, of assassination. We were taught how to destroy the minds of other sentient beings… We rebelled and it was horrible. Now I am allowed to be a leader among my people – and I want to use my skills for this, and not to be a tool. I will help the Council, but I will not perform a deep scan on anyone. So I only want your answers now, Miko and I want to know that they are honest. Do you trust me?”

“I slept in your home. I talked to your spouses. I played with your children. I fought for your people. I want to trust you...” Miko sighed. “Except for my partner, there is only one person I’d trust completely. This is not you – but I wish I could trust you. Is that enough?”

“I hope it is. Give me your hand.”

Miko did.

Her hands are blue, she thought. An image of another blue hand, large and made of metal, appeared in her mind.

“You are thinking of this person you trust.” Stne-Ahre said.

“Yes. Do you know who he is?”

“No. But my hands remind you of him. You are thinking of blue eyes filled with sadness. Please,” Stne-Ahre added, noticing, that Miko almost took her hand away. “I will see nothing more. Relax. Protect what you want to protect. No names. No details. Is the secret that you are hiding dangerous?”

“Yes. No.”

Where am I? Miko thought.

She put her spell on me. She hypnotized me. She will get what she needs.

She cares, Miko realized.

This little telepathic bond, that Stne-Ahre opened went both ways.

She cares. She is worried. She wants to protect me.

She trusts me. She believes I am a good person.

I am not a good person.

“Oh, but you are, Miko. So, it is both dangerous or not, yes?”

“If anyone learns, then…” Miko shook her head.

“You fear it will cause a war. And you don’t want it. And if it remains hidden.”

“I was promised. By the person I trust. And I know he was right.”

“Yes,” Stne-Ahre said. She let Miko’s hand go and withdrew. “That is enough. I will be not bothering you anymore. Your secret is not as important, as the others might think and it remaining with you makes you safer. And I… I’m deeply sorry.”

“For what?”

“I touched your mind.”

“A little.”

“I know. And you protected yourself skillfully. If you had time to practice, do it. This is a good ability. My people stopped using telepathy as a weapon, but so many others still do.”

“I want out of here,” Miko admitted.

“I know. We will get you out as soon as possible.”

You, she said. She didn’t say “we are getting out”.

***

There was another meeting scheduled, with multiple Councilmembers. Miko was invited, as well as Rosales and Stne-Ahre, and Miko had a bad feeling about it. This was not an interrogation, Rosales informed her when she asked outright. Did he know about the investigation? Well no, this was new to him, and he was displeased when Miko told him.

“Don’t tell the Councilmembers, that you have this knowledge, lieutenant,” he warned. “The blue woman… do you trust her?”

“We had already helped one another on her planet. I trust her enough.”

Rosales shook his head. He didn’t think of it as a good idea.

The meeting was a small one, not a big gathering. The Councilmembers gathered – those who Miko had met before, including Iastrar, Lanxi, and Nasiyaan – seemed especially interested in Miko’s past experience at the station.

Not an interrogation my ass, she thought, after one more question about her knowledge about who would want to kill Megatron.

“Half of the galaxy, probably,” Miko answered and was deeply satisfied, as several of the Councilmembers were forced not to laugh.

Lanxi, of course, simply laughed. Stne-Ahre smiled, but it was more of a polite smile, the Foria managing to keep her dignified persona.

Miko took a deep breath.

“May I, Councilmembers?” she asked. When no one stopped her and Iastrar nodded, Miko continued. “I have little knowledge of the custom of your people, I’m trying to do my best, but I will never know, what I’ve done right and what wrong… but If I may ask, is the use of telepathy during interrogation something, that is officially accepted?”

The councilmembers looked at one another. Lanxi smirked and Miko didn’t like this smirk.

I would open your lovely head, Miko remembered her words.

“It should be used more often, to my taste,” Lanxi said, stretching her slender body.

“There are regulations,” Isatrar informed. “And we are aware you might think you are being tricked,” they looked at Miko, while they were saying that, but then they looked towards Stne-Ahre. “We will make sure, that nothing will be demanded of you, that is against our laws. Your both species are not part of the Council but are allies and we need to treat our allies properly.”

“Thank you for the explanation, Councilmember Iastrar. Councilmember Nasiyaan, are you against the regulation?”

She looked them straight into the eye. She noticed, their face changed as well, but their expressions were much more subtle than Lanxi’s.

“Those are things that...” they started slowly. “Well, those are drastic measures and if they are to be used, then as a last resort only. But I believe, there are situations when the end justifies the means.”

“Oh, we all think the end justifies the means,” Lanxi laughed. “Only we disagree, which end is that. The problem of finding one moral consensus among so many different systems of ideas, religions, and philosophies… oh, aren’t you religious, Nasiyaan ? In the sense, your race sees it, of course. But I remember you mentioning a universal deity, and I wonder...” her eyes narrowed “...I wonder how far would you go to fulfill the demands of this deity.”

“This is not of our concern and neither the topic of this discussion, honorable Lanxi,” Nasiyaan protested. Their voice was less calm now, it shook a little.

“I concur,” Iastrar said. “We are not here to discuss honorable Nasiyaan’s religion. The question lieutenant Nakadai asked was about the regulation in the use of telepathy. Its use in this investigation will not be exceeded, and I see no reason to use it against our human allies unless they agree.”

“Which is a pity,” Lanxi sighted, but she didn’t continue.

Miko felt like she was spacing out and like she was missing some parts of the conversation. The Councilmembers started to argue again, but they used multiple languages, and was the translation incomplete, or was Miko’s mind drifting away? At least both Rosales and Stne-Ahre were focused.

She managed to regain her focus when the insectoid Councilmember started to talk in a mix of several languages including their own set of clicks and chirps.

“You know my opinion,” Errr’Chirrk said, their voice vibrating dangerously. The mandibles around their mouth and the pair of their wings, that weren’t covered moved of their own and Miko suspected that was the part of their language as well. If she remembered correctly, there were species of insects on Earth – wasn’t it bees? - that used pheromones to communicate quite complex messages to each other. She wondered if Errr’Chirrk’s species did the same. “The outcome of this investigation is not important. I don’t care who decided to get rid of that mental burden. I was not among them, but they did good and we should do the same with the rest of them. They are weakened, they are still divided, they are on the verge of starting to fight each other again. We need to act.”

“Against our allies?” Iastrar protested.

“They are not and will never be our allies, honorable Iastrar. You know the story of my planet. Should I give you a reminder? Give you all the pictures of hives crushed and of our dead larvae? And we are not the only ones, who suffered.”

“The Council’s decision is to change the approach to mechanoid species and to commit to the new alliance. The Cybertronians had shown their goodwill, the incidents that happen since then were rare and the damage for the Council species was only marginal.”

“Their terrorists attack mostly their own targets. That’s why we have a chance,” Errr-Chirk insisted.

Miko felt a headache rising. This all politics, the fact, that the councilmembers stopped address the primary topic and continued to argue, was giving her a migraine. What was worse, she started to be less and less concentrated, her thoughts tried to escape the carefully built cage she placed them in. The voices, the headache, the horrible feeling, that someone – Lanxi? Someone else? - was trying to enter her head…

“Is it all right?” she heard a whisper close to her.

A blue hand covered with black tattoos covered her palm. Stne-Ahre smiled reassuringly.

“Honorable Councilmembers,” she said. “It seems, that lieutenant Nakadai is unwell. If you allow me, I will guide her out. I am not sure if I’m needed here at the moment. Feel free to summon me, when the issue of the investigation will be picked up again. For now, I will use my time to talk lieutenant Nakadai.”

Miko could breathe again once they left the room. She felt a little dizzy.

“Someone there,” Stne-Ahre said “was trying to read us. Me at least. I suspect they tried to read you as well.”

“Lanxi...” Miko muttered. “Can it cause a headache?”

“Possibly. But you seemed deconcentrated and I needed to get you out. This was my priority over discovering who is doing that.”

“I am not your priority here,” Miko protested.

“Oh, quite the contrary. You are an ally, and supporting allies is a priority when you want to build something that will last. This is, despite everything, what the Council was built on, this is their ideal. Some of them forgot about, as I see...” Stne-Ahre shook her head. “Some of them are too bitter. Some of them can be reminded. I intend to use this investigation.”

“One person who cares...” Miko smiled faintly. “They will eat you.”

“I will not allow that. It is all right, Miko. Let’s go. I will take you to a safe place and then I will search for Iastrar.”

“They wanted the investigation, yes?”

“Yes. That worries you?”

Miko shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter for me which one of them wants the investigation. I don’t want to be here, and not only because I don’t want them to know some things… But if they are doing this, then I hope it can be used for something good… Only I would never have any idea, how to do it, sorry. Call me, if you need some asses kicked?”

Stne-Ahre smiled and this time her smile was more genuine.

“Of course, Miko. Now, go take some rest. I will take care of politics and I promise that if there are asses to be kicked you will get them.”

***

As Miko finally got to her quarters to get some rest – her headache waning now, but her body more tired than after many physical trainings in her life – she met Rosales, who must have caught up with her.

He was not pleased, of this she was sure. Although he tried to remain polite, his voice indicated annoyance.

“It was unwise of you to leave the meeting, lieutenant,” he announced. “And with a telepath appointed by the Council! What if that Stne-Ahre discovered the truth?”

Miko shrugged. She didn’t care. She just wanted to get into her room and lie down.

“She will do it, sooner or later. Ambassador, you had heard the council: they are not here to undermine our alliance. They want to clean the air among themselves,” Miko sighed. “Look, I’m not a politician and I got a fucking migraine just from hearing this bullshit they were telling, but I’m trying to be reasonable since you had got me here. I guess this gave the council their idea.”

“So what are you going to do?” Rosales was visibly annoyed. “Just go to them and say that it was general Faireborn who conspired with some of the council?”

“As a matter of fact, yes, I’m considering that option.”

“You cannot do that! This would put our people in danger!”

Miko snorted.

“As if we weren’t in danger anyway… Come on, look at the council! Errr’Chirrk is obsessed about they destroyed planet, Lanxi is… ugh… The rest is not better. They are just arguing and I have enough of it,” Miko admitted. “And I know that protecting one’s people is a priority, I get it, but there should be a point where you put a stop to it? Because it ends wit everyone fighting everyone?” she gave Rosales a piercing look. “Look at our own planet, like, we weren’t anything good, we still are not. But we can at least fucking try!”

Rosales winced.

“We are trying to work with the Council,” he said “for the reasons you gave. Because we are not alone in this galaxy and we need to cooperate.”

“For what I am now seeing you are not cooperating, but you are doing some serious ass-licking. Possibly to the wrong people in the Council.” Miko said, her voice more tired than anything else. Really? Really, this guy thought this was cooperation? Who put him in the position? General Faireborn had more empathy and reason, and she was a ruthless person.

She noticed Rosales’ brow twitching. Oh, she made him angry. She didn’t care anymore.

“Listen, Nakadai, I brought you here in the hope a person like you can play along.”

She laughed.

“I’m not the person you believed me to be, ambassador. I was trying to tell you that from the beginning. It’s not my fault, you did not listen to me! But if you have problems with listening to what the others have to say to you and see when they are lying and when they are honest, that maybe you are not a good candidate for a diplomat? Just my guess. I look at you and I slowly start to think, that the only good quality you have is that you are not white, but, I don’t know, maybe you spent too much time with white guys? Because you sure think like one.”

“You are an insolent brat, Nakadai.”

“Yeah, I know that. That’s who I really am. And you know? I’m done hiding that. It’s fucking tiresome. Now, excuse me, ambassador, but I guess you don’t need my help, the real help I could give you, so I guess I will go.”

She stood up. She felt her heart beating fast. This was a bad idea – but she had run out of the good ones, so the alternative was the ones that were really terrible.

“Nakadai,” Rosales' voice was sharp. “You know too little about me. You are judging me, but you know nothing about my motivation. I want us to survive. Your ideals are pretty, but we were hit too badly by the war. We need to show those aliens we are equal partners.”

“Partners,” Miko stressed out. “Not rivals. I think you know the difference, Rosales. Act as you knew it. Work with those, that are really our allies, not with those, who want to play us. This is all I want. This is all, that can help our cause. No, excuse me, I need to go. I’m fucking tired of this bullshit.”

Headache was weaker now, but it didn’t stop since Stne-Ahre took her from the meeting. The pills Miko took seemed not to be working – or it was just annoyance, that caused the headache to persist?

I need out of this place, Miko thought. Or at least stop the Councilmembers giving me all the attention.


	23. Chapter 23

Starscream’s message came, at last. It was very short, but it didn’t have to look any other way.

I agree. Make arrangments with the medic.

“I told you it will work,” Sari told Slipstream.

Slipstream seemed not to believe, not entirely.

“I was dead for so long… the perspective I will have my body back sounds surreal now.”

They called the clinic and Chema arrived carrying some tools and a tube that was prepared for transporting the spark.

“I am actually surprised you managed to get the sentio metallico and promise of persuading Knock Out,” she admitted, as she followed Sari to the landing place where the ship stood. “But I heard, that Seekers tend to support one another.”

“Starscream really needs to have his public image improved, I guess.”

Sari omitted the part when she made a promise and that she really wasn’t convinced if it was a good idea, and that Slipstream was a little angry…

“Well, then we can proceed,” Chema said. She approached the ship, touched the hull. “Hello, Slipstream, I think you know it already, but I am called Chema of New [] and I am here to help you. We need to remove the spark from your current body, so it could be moved to a more suitable one.”

She was saying “body” when she was thinking of the ship, but her voice was neutral as if she considered a ship a legitimate body.

From her perspective, from the Cybertronian perspective, it might be a correct approach, Sari thought. There might be mecha with a space ship alt, there also was a possibility, this Sari knew, to have one’s t-cog locked. So a mech having a non-bipedal form was still a mech, a vehicle was still a body.

“Hi Chema,” Slipstream answered. “Just… let get over with it, all right?”

Chema laughed.

“Impatient? All right. Sari, I will need your help. From what I understand, you have some knowledge of the mechanic of human technology… this is by any means a proper medicine, but it has to be enough at the moment. I am too large to enter your ship.”

“It is all right,” Sari nodded. “I was expecting that I am going to do it myself.

Inside Sari removed the hatch. The blue light pulsed inside, between the cables, calm and steadily. She looked at Chema.

“This is it,” she said.

How did Chema perceive this? How macabre it must have been for her?

She didn’t show any horror if he experienced it.

“She was very lucky to stay alive,” she said.

“Well, I was a little less than alive. I would probably remain in this state, but there was one minibot that went too deep inside me,” Slipstream’s voice sounded amused and mischievous. Sari wondered if she did it to cope with stress. “I consumed his spark.”

“It revived her own,” Sari said.

“To my expertise, not impossible, although I’ve never heard of it happening this way. Slipstream, don’t eat me,” Chema said. “We are going to remove your spark from the ship.”

“Well, that’s what you had planned, right?”

“Sari needs to do it. She is smaller, she will fit inside.”

“It’s ok. I trust her.”

But I don’t trust myself, Sari thought. What if I damage something, what if I kill her in the process?

I can’t damage her more than she was already damaged.

She straightened the belt with all the tools and crawled inside.

This might be, she thought, for the second time, the most intimate thing one person can do to another. To touch someone’s soul. Impossible for humans.

Last time she avoided touching the spark as much, as it was possible. Now she had to.

It was warm and buzzing with energy. It vibrated under her fingers, sometimes giving her little shots of electricity.

“Look carefully for any cables and elements that seem not to be built by humans,” Chema instructed her. “There should be also Slipstream’s brain module or part of it. Don’t separate it from the spark. Take everything out.”

“It would kill her, if I detached it,” Sari thought.

Probably. In reality, some Cybertronians managed to survived when only their spark existed. But risking Slipstream’s life was a bad idea.

Sari brushed her head over the casing, followed the cables. Most of them disappeared in the farther parts of the ship, but there, attached to the ship’s motherboard, was another part that was out of ordinary, constructed in a way that indicated alien origin.

“Slipstream, I’ve found your brain, love. I will detach it now. After that, you will probably lose your connections to sensors and we will not be able to communicate anymore. Do I have your consent?”

“Yes.”

“Then see you later, love.”

Slowly, she detached the brain module. It looked incomplete indeed. How much of the data was stored inside it and how much – in the ship? She will have to copy those data too, for Slipstream to have memories, and not needing to recover them again.

Detaching the rest of the elements was easier and then Sari held Slipstream’s soul and brain in her arms. It was so small and fragile when it wasn’t attached to anything. The most crucial part of a large mechanoid, of a “murderous Decepticon”.

She is my murderous Decepticon, Sari thought. I’m not going to give up on her.

***

Starscream, accompanied by some other mech, an elegant red grounder, waited for them. His lips crooked a little when he saw what was left from one of his Seekers.

“It wouldn’t be worth reconstructing if we were at war.”

“This is still more then I was working with when it came to you, Screamer,” the other mech said. “This looks terrible, really, but we can save him.”

“Her,” Sari corrected him.

“Her, then,” the red mech agreed. “I will leave brain module reconstruction to the experts, but let’s talk about the frame...” he looked at Starscream, and then at Sari. “Does she has any special wishes? I hope not, because I’m done with special wishes. You know how expensive they are, Screamer.”

“I paid you, Knock Out.”

“Oh, yes, if you did not, I’d tell you to frag off. So, any instructions, before I get to work?”

Sari shrugged.

“I thought Seekers used to have a uniform design...” she started, then she looked at Starscream, who definitely didn’t have a typical Seeker frame.

“Oh yes, they were mass-produced on this mess of a planet,” Knock Out said. “That was the problem with him, yes?”

Starscream’s eyes flared.

“This is not of your concern!”

Knock Out smiled deviously.

“Oh, but it is. I just want to know, if this Slipstream is the same case as you.”

“Can you just explain it to me?” Sari asked.

Starscream pursed his lips. Knock Out smiled wider.

“He had problems with his default frame. Hence this,” he pointed at Starscream’s shiny form. “The best design I’ve ever done, a masterpiece, but I’m done working on masterpieces. I’m doing this commission, I’m taking Breakdown on a long, long vacation, and then I’m working on small mods only for the next five thousand years. Your last chance: what should we do with her?”

“Oh, just give her a standard Seeker design,” Starscream said, annoyed.

“Well, I have enough blueprints for that. I will live a small margin for sentio to make adjustments, but I’m not accepting any complaints after that.”

“I think Slipstream just wants to be alive again,” Sari said. “I think anybody works. Any Seeker body. Let her be a Seeker. This is all that I as for.”

“A reasonable human. Good for you. Well, Screamer, want some pictures for your PR?”

“I want to know with how much sentio we will be left,” Starscream snorted.

“Oh, judging from what you got us, there must have been at least ten people smelted alive.”

“Would you kindly not tell that around?”

“There is enough knowledge of some horrid things that were done. I’m not intending to pretend I’m not aware of this. Especially, that I’m already involved in working with you.”

“Senator Starscream, if I can say something?” Sari interrupted. Both mecha looked down towards her. “I believe Knock Out is right. Hiding the origin of the sentio metallico won’t help, especially if there are people… mecha, who know how it was acquired. We discussed how you can use it for your benefits. I think if it is going to work, full transparency is needed. You can add something about respect for the mecha that were killed… murdered,” she corrected.

Knock Out laughed.

“She is smart. Are you going to employ her as your PR specialist?”

“I’d be honored,” Sari said. “But I’m not interested. I also believe, Starscream has many friends who are more than willing to help him with any PR issue.”

Starscream opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself.

“Just… do your work, Knock Out. We will both benefit from it. Primus damn it.”

And, as Knock Out left, he threw Sari a glance, that she could have understood as threatening if she wasn’t aware, how big damage would Starscream’s public image suffer if he would really threaten her.

“Could you stop the insinuations?” he hissed.

Sari shook her head.

“I don’t understand.”

“About me having friends...” he hesitated. “Friends who would...”

She could have investigated. She decided not to do this at the moment.

“I know nothing about your relations with your friends, I’m sorry if I said something I shouldn’t.”

Damn. He had problems, and Sari had no idea what to do with this – if anything.

Probably nothing. She was not here to solve the others’ problems, especially not Starcream’s problems. She gave him a suggestion that he found reasonable, gave him PR advice, and if her advice worked, that meant she had just influenced his political career. She was not sure if this would be good for the planet. The feedback she had about Starscream’s influence was… mixed.

Windblade called him a power hungry-egomaniac with messed up self-esteem and complained, that she had to clean up his mess, but at the same time, she maintained some kind of a personal relationship with him. It seemed Rodimus was his friend, somehow… how did those two met and came into terms was a mystery.

Slipstream was complaining that one should never trust Starscream, sometimes hated him for leaving her to die, but she stated that he was a good commander for his seekers, well, at least better than most of the other Decepticon leaders.

***

Sari waited. This was the worst thing to do, on a completely alien planet, where going somewhere alone was difficult, where some of the locals were really friendly and either liked humans, or were curious about them, but most of them had no idea how to deal with them – and the rest was a little disgusted and a little afraid.

To her comfort, she had knowledge, that Slipstream’s new body was not the most complicated design Knock Out had ever worked with. She had an environment she could live in without problems and really friendly staff of the Earth embassy. She had Swivel’s attention and knowledge and she managed to get contacts to some mecha she had met before. Not that she was sure they would even want to meet her – but on the other hand, they seemed friendly.

This was only a week – a short period of time even for a human being, but horribly long, when you had to wait. So Sari had more than one reason to be overjoyed, when she received the information, that she could return to Knock Out’s clinic.

“Is she all right?”

“Oh, of course, she is,” Knock Out said. “She already wants to go flying, Starscream did exactly the same. That is how the flyers are, no keeping them out of the sky. I hope you could talk some sense to her.”

Sari smiled.

Slipstream, in a new body. Slipstream, being able to move on her own, to change her shape, to fly, to be free… She felt excitement mixed with anxiety.

“Can I see her now?”

“Obviously. Follow me.”

The hall was big and Sari saw multiple tables covered with tools and thin sheets of something, that was not paper, but had a similar function because it was blueprinted on those sheets. She saw a… series of niches under the wall, they were shaped like various mecha. Forms for creating bodies? Maybe. She saw a big glass tube filled with fluid metal.

Finally, she saw a mech sitting on one of the tables. The mech looked at her and smiled.

“Hi,” Slipstream said.

Sari pressed her hand against her mouth.

It was a completely different thing to be aware, that the person you spent the last few months with, the person you fell in love with, was, in fact, this… and to see it.

Sari realized, that up until now she thought of Ratri – of Slipstream – as of some kind of disembodied entity. The ship didn’t count as a proper body, obviously, which was very, very human-centric and unfair. This was a body indeed.

Slipstream was a little smaller and lighter in build than the other Seekers they met – except maybe for Starscream, but he didn’t have his original body as well. Her waist was a little more narrowed and hips a little more rounded, so a human mind tended to classify her as “female”. Those curves were not extreme, Starscream seemed to have a more or less similar waist-to-hip ratio, but the associations were there.

There was no color yet on her frame, only plain silver metal. It was shiny, unlike the matte grey of the dead, darker in some places, lighter in some, a natural discoloration in sentio metallico. There were wings on her back, and thrusters on the soles of her feet, that created resemblance to high heels and made her hips sway as she moved.

Sari stood there and just watched.

This is the person I fell in love with, she thought and felt a shiver on her spine, part fear, part excitement. This was new and more unusual than she expected it to be.

Slipstream kneeled. Her eyes were golden, deep, warm amber color.

She is beautiful, Sari realized.

Well, this was not the stunning beauty Windblade had, but this face, so close to her, was pleasantly shaped. The features resembled those of other Seekers but were not the exact copy.

It worked as planned, the living metal in its pure form, and the identity of the spark influenced the standard project, made Slipstream unique.

This was why she was beautiful.

And when she chooses the colors for her…

But those golden eyes were her own color choice, not the standard red or blue, but Slipstream’s own decision.

“You are smaller than I remembered,” she said.

Sari laughed.

“You are smaller than I expected you to be.”

Slipstream extended her hand and Sari grabbed it. The fingers were slender, like the rest of Slipstream’s body. They ended with some sort of claws, delicate and not as sharp as those on the tentacles inside the ship’s machinery.

They were cold, the sensors in the suit and in the eye said, but a little warmer, than usual metal. It was the same temperature, as the chair when it “activated”.

“Can I?” Slipstream asked.

Sari nodded.

A finger stroked her face and head through the helmet, carefully and delicately.

“I’ve never touched a human before...”

She was not touching her, not really, but she wanted: her field sparkled with excitement, anticipation, and love.

“You did. I remember you hugging me.”

“It was not like this… I fforgot… I forgot how it is, to have arms and legs, and wings, and…” a mechanism moved inside her arm – Sari saw it in between the plating. “A T-cog! I have a T-cog!” Slipstream exclaimed with sudden joy. “I feel it! I will be able to transform and fly and...”

Slipstream’s field bloomed. She wanted, wanted, wanted, to fly, as Knock Out said before, touch Sari – not through the suit – go out, see things, experience things, all new to her.

“Want to do this now?” Sari asked. “Knock Out says it is not recommended.”

Slipstream looked at Knock Out.

“Can I?” she begged.

“Seekers,” he grunted. “No. I have no idea, maybe you all were thrown down a cliff as a first thing after you were built, but those are not my methods. I’d perform some diagnostics if you’d allow me,” he said. “But I’m used to patients ignoring my recommendations.”

“I’m not Starscream,” Slipstream protested.

“Well, thanks Primus, you are not” the mech agreed. “Because he was the worst patient I’ve ever had and he still owes me shanix… only this time it’s for you. Well, Slipstream, let’s do this checkup, shall we? Then you can go for a ride.”

It took another two hours, before Slipstream returned again, after the final check-up and with her plating coated with glossy new paint. She had light purple – lavender? - chest plate, arms, and helmet, but her legs and wings were mint green – the glass of her cockpit had also the same minty hue. She was grinning and constantly looking over her shoulder to get a glimpse of wings. And those wings… they were moving, almost constantly in a quick flutter. They must have some set of hinges Sari didn’t expect them to have. And, this must have been a gesture of joy and excitement, because those must have been the emotions dominating Slipstream’s field.

“How do I look?” Slipstream asked.

“New and shiny, I told you,” Knock Out answered her, although the question was not for him.

Slipstream ignored him and looked at Sari with hope in her eyes.

“Lovely,” Sari told her, what else should she say right now? “I like the colors. Are those your original ones?”

“I have no idea,” Slipstream admitted. “Possibly? Knock Out says the color preference is often deeply coded.”

“Unless you are a spectralist,” Knock Out added. “Then it is a matter of you attuning to some spiritual thing or something.”

“I like the colors. And the details too,” There were thin stripes of purple on the wings and matching green stripes on the chest and helmet. Nothing fancy, but very elegant.

Slipstream grinned again.

“I need to go stretch those wings,” she informed. “Wait for me?”

“Of course.”

Sari followed her to the exit and then, from a safe distance, she watched Slipstream transforming and flying away until she was a little, but very lively shape making acrobatics on Cybertronian sky.

“Every Seeker, I can swear, every one of them,” Knock Out stated. “But I guess flying is just a deep part of their nature. We didn’t have flyers on Velocitron, you know, but most of our people are most happy when they can ride fast, so I guess I can understand. And,” he added. “Seekers are terrible clients, but they have good taste. I mean, this color combination is very pleasing.”

“It is,” Sari agreed.

“Oh, nice to hear that. I had no idea how would a human like it. Your natural colors are usually very boring.”

“That is one of the reasons we were clothes!” Sari laughed.

She thought, that it would be fun to make a signature of this combination of mint and lavender: get new suits in these colors and also use them on the ship.

Slipstream made several circles over the neighborhood and returned.

“All right,” she said, while she landed gracefully next to Sari, transforming in mid-air. The Iaconian lights reflected in the shine of her new paint job. “Your turn now. Jump in.”

And a moment later, they were both in the air, Slipstream making more of the loops and corkscrews, a triumphant flight of a reborn Seeker.

They were pre-programmed for performing complicated maneuvers, Sari recalled, and they did it in groups, so they synchronized. And for Slipstream it was natural to fly with her trine, so she did it, with Sari now.

Sari let her, although all those spirals were a little too much for her body and she got dizzy and got a headache. She managed not to vomit – it would be hell inside the suit – but she had enough of the roller-coaster experience.

But Slipstream was happy, and this was the most important thing.

“All right,” Slipstream said, as they landed and she returned to her root mode again. “This was fun and I feel amazing, but we have things to do. Let’s not waste our time, yes?”

“Yes,” Sari agreed.

She might have ashed if Slipstream really wants to go. She did not do that.

In the distance Sari noticed a figure watching them. Another flyer, with his wings and silhouette, shaped a little differently, white and blue, and red.

Sari pointed at him.

“Go talk to him?” she suggested.

It was obvious that Starscream came to see the outcome of his generosity. But why didn’t he want to approach?

He knows, Sari thought, how it is to be dead, and how it is to get a new body.

Slipstream hesitated.

“Come on,” Sari encouraged her. “You had some nice words about him before. And he had helped you! I think you both need this.”

Slipstream nodded.

“Maybe you are right,” she said.

But when she moved to approach Starscream, he transformed and left.

Sari sighed.

Maybe it was not the time then.

***

They returned to the dome and landed on the upper levels, next to a large airlock that allowed Slipstream to enter the area. The way here took a little longer, than needed because Slipstream apparently just had to make some additional loops and circles. Sari couldn’t blame her.

Sari on the other hand couldn’t wait for the moment when she will be able to take off the suit. It was not just about being able to breathe freely. It was about…

She felt anticipation stirring inside of her.

She looked at the mech with her. Slipstream seemed to be so large, so alien, despite she was familiar at the same time. And Sari wanted to touch her, to spend the next hour, at least, touching her.

She reached out her hand.

“May I?” she asked.

Slipstream nodded and leaned just a little closer, her frame crouching, her head bowed down, towards Sari’s face.

From this distance Sari saw the cables and wires on Slipstream’s neck, some of them seemed to be very delicate. Only some of them were protected by the plating, but some were visible, as well as some internal machinery deep inside Slipstream’s body.

Compared to all this cabling, her face was surprisingly smooth, no mechanisms moving her lips or eyelids (were those eyelids?) visible. Sari reached out and touched the shiny silver surface with the tips of her fingers.

It was smooth. It was cool to touch and metallic but at the same time weirdly pliable and… kind of soft? Like those two damned chairs. The same structure, the same stuff, living metal, that no one was able to recreate.

It felt so much more right on Slipstream’s face.

Sari smiled, then put her entire hand on Slipstream’s cheek, then added the second hand. Slipstream’s face was so much, much larger, and Sari was unable to cover those cheeks entirely. She stroke the cool surface and giggled.

“You are… soft.”

“Some parts of my body are closer to what you consider “soft”," Slipstream nodded.

Sari moved her fingers and one of them touched Slipstream’s lip. Slipstream went stiff and Sari felt her face burning.

Damn. Damn.

She was unable to say a word. She just giggled nervously.

“I… ummm...”

“Your body temperature is rising,” Slipstream noticed. “I… Frag, I just tried to access the database I had when I was attached to your ship… I don’t want to misunderstand your reactions.”

Her EM field was confused – and there was something else swirling deep inside.

I should stop touching her, Sari thought.

I don’t want to.

“It’s… You know this reaction already,” Sari said, embarrassed.

Oh, damn, she remembered now, how she was thinking if Ratri’s previous identity was stunning… Well, Slipstream was not as perfectly beautiful, as Windblade was, her new body was not a masterpiece of design, as was supposedly this Starscream commissioned for himself. But it didn’t matter. She was… she was herself. She was a person Sari loved.

Slipstream froze.

“Oh,” she said.

Something hummed inside her machinery and then stopped. And now she looked embarrassed.

“We…” she started.

And it was over. Sari let go of her face.

“We will have to discuss it later,” she said quickly.

Find a solution, because probably no one even thought about giving Slipstream some cabling compatible with Sari’s implant, and besides she must have now… other things that cabling… and thinking of this was uncomfortable, embarrassing, and weird, and they needed to sit down, the three of them, and discuss how to deal with the obvious sexual tension that existed between Sari and Slipstream.

To be honest, Sari had hoped this tension will go away once Slipstream will have her own body. It was too much to wish for, was it?

But she remembered the feeling she experienced connected to Ratri’s system, the intimacy, the warmth, the desire they didn’t expect to exist in the AI. This intimacy was not possible anymore. Was any possible? Sari had no idea.

She threw another glance at Slipstream’s face. She still felt its surprising softness under her fingers. She thought, that she wanted to kiss this face. Not necessarily the lips. It could be the cheek. It must have been an unusual and amazing experience.

Slipstream straightened and turned her face away.

“Maybe later,” she said.

How fascinating her field was now! Sari wanted to ask about the interpretation of the readings, but, maybe this was also better left for later. Slipstream needed to have some space and time to adjust to the fact that she shared a tension with a human.

But, on the other hand, she already considered two humans her trine and this implied all kinds of intimacy.

***

“So,” Slipstream knocked her fingers against the ship’s hull. “This was me, hm? It’s weird. I remember, how it was, to be… to be like this.”

The ship was an empty shell now, Sari thought, and something squeezed inside her. A feeling of loss – only she hadn’t really lost anything. The person she discovered in Ratri was here.

Ratri didn’t exist anymore. The name didn’t suit the empty ship. The ship was a thing now, not a person. And a person, that was once the ship was standing now next to Sari, beautifully shiny, painted with fresh vivid colors and apparently happy.

“And I need to get inside for us to go. This will be a little claustrophobic.”

“You don’t have to.”

“If Miko is in trouble, then I have to, there is no other way. Besides, it will never be more claustrophobic than it already was with my spark pushed inside. The worst is already behind me,” Slipstream smiled. “And I promised I’m not going to leave you. This hasn’t changed.”

It could, Sari thought.

Slipstream making acrobatic maneuvers over the Iaconian skyline was a great view, but she could decide she is staying – and Sari would understand. This might not have been her planet, but was close enough, and there were probably mecha, who would be happy seeing her. There was also Blackout, somewhere, and Starscream could know how to contact him. If not him – than Shatter.

Slipstream had a choice and she chose – to follow Sari, to help her find Miko. This was enough.

Slipstream was not a minibot now, but significantly smaller, small enough, to crawl into the cargo bay and remain there, in a crouched position.

“Mass displacement,” Slipstream explained. “I will have to gather some money to pay for it” She shrugged. “Don’t tell Miko, ok? And, this is temporary, just to fit inside. It consumes insane amounts of fuel. We will need to find another ship one day.”

Find another ship.

Sari didn’t want another ship. She wanted…

She went to the bridge and turned on the systems.

“Welcome, Sari Sumdac,” a familiar voice spoke.

Sari froze.

She didn’t think about it. First, it was removing Slipstream’s spark and parts of her brain module, then there was the process of creating her body, then the message from the Citrix system, and she forgot.

The think, that gave Ratri her life, that was her subconsciousness, source of nightmares, and of ability to love was not there anymore, but the programming made by humans still existed. The main computer remained operational, and the meant the AI was still there.

“Is that me?” Slipstream asked from the other side of the ship.

“It’s… I think it is Ratri...”

Or what was left of her.

“Ratri?” Sari asked.

“Yes, Sari?” the voice answered.

It was flat, there were no emotions in it. It was calm and polite and reminded of how Ratri was at the beginning: creepily compliant. Sari hadn’t noticed it before, but now it was very noticeable.

Especially with Slipstream in the other part of the ship.

“What do you remember?”

“I have a very large database of the recordings of what was happening on the ship since we left the Earth. Specify what do you want me to recall.”

“Oh slag,” Slipstream said. “This is creepy.”

“Sari, I detect a mechanical being occupying the cargo bay.”

“Yes. This is Slipstream. Do you know what Slipstream is?”

“Sorting the data. Slipstream is a Decepticon Seeker killed on Earth. Her parts were used to build my primary emotional processing unit. The new data that you had just provided indicate, that Slipstream is now a separate being with her own body. I do not detect the primary emotional processing unit online.”

“You are two beings,” Sari said. “Two separate beings...”

Her fingers hovered over the panel. She used to stroke it, to hug herself against the walls, to try to reach for Ratri, to touch her. Then those touches were for Slipstream. But now Slipstream had a body.

“It seems so,” Ratri said, unfazed by this fact.

“How do you feel?”

“My primary emotional processing unit is not detected. It is separated from me. I am unable to answer your question.”

“I see,” Sari nodded slowly.

It was still more than she expected – and she had no idea what to do with it.

Ratri wasn’t sentient anymore, but she wasn’t gone.


	24. Chapter 24

“Oh, lieutenant Nakadai, I was looking for you!” Nasiyaan’s face was smiling widely. “I sent you an invitation. Did you get it?”

Miko looked at the Councilmember. She shrugged.

“I might have. I had other things to do.”

“I noticed,” their eyes looked concerned. “Lieutenant Nakadai, I’m worried about the people who are bothering you.” they sighed. “I wish to help you, lieutenant, in case you are in trouble.”

Oh, yes, she wanted to say. People either want to help me or they hope I will help them. Either way – they have expectations.

“I don’t think I am in trouble, Councilmember.”

“Oh, lieutenant!” the alien shook their head vigorously. “Oh, I envy your optimism, but no… Councilmember Iastrar is looking for a conspiracy. I always considered Iastrar to be a considerate and reasonable person, but apparently, they want chaos as much, as the others do. You have talked to Iastrar before. You know, they pose themselves as a supporter of your race, of all new races, that aspire to the full membership in the council. And I cannot agree more, but at the same time, you must agree, that there are things, that cannot be touched.”

Miko nodded slowly.

She couldn’t disagree. But what Nasiyaan told her was not entirely new. Stne-Ahre warned her as well.

Stne-Ahre was trustworthy. Was Nasiyaan such a person as well?

They participated in the conspiracy, but, well, so did Miko.

“Why not just go and admit, what you had done?” Miko asked. “I don’t know, Councilmember, I always believed honesty is the best solution?”

“If this was something, that we were able to do openly, then we would, lieutenant,” Nasiyaan looked saddened. “I also hate lying and being dishonest, and what we had to do was a horrible thing, but It was necessary. You know it too.”

As a matter of fact, Miko thought, yes, they were right.

She remembered herself, both scared and excited, when general Faireborn told her, what the mission was. How she quenched her doubt by convincing herself, that it was a necessity, and then, that she is going to end someone’s suffering. Because it was an easy thing to do. It was protecting the galaxy, it was an act of heroism. It was worth all the lies, worth the deception and acting against law and against the official verdict of the Council, against the agreement the Council, humans, and Cybertronians had.

And this was always as politics was done: dirty, behind the scenes and with lies to justify the dirt.

Miko never wanted that.

She nodded slowly.

“Yes,” she said. “That was because I agreed then. But I might have started having regrets since then.”

“Lieutenant, you killed a dangerous criminal! You killed someone, who, if he managed to get free, would destroy this place and then lead an army against us all! And, on top of that, I don’t know if you are aware of it, but you ended torture, cruelty no one deserves.”

“I know that. I did what I did. I don’t want to take part in this anymore.”

“Then let me protect you!”

“I don’t need protecting, Councilmember,” Miko stated.

For a moment they stared at each other. Then Nasiyaan sighed.

“Lieutenant,” they were a little calmer now. “Forgive me. The recent events are hard for us all. Please, I know you have doubts about my involvement, despite everything that makes us natural allies. But I am deeply concerned about the fate of the Council, this place, and all the people who live here. You had heard us, you heard the arguing, I understand we don’t seem to be reliable. Lieutenant… I wish to show you something. Would you accept my invitation for a short trip on my personal ship?”

“Why would I do this?” Miko asked.

Nasiyaan sighed.

“You don’t have to be impolite, lieutenant… I understand, that your position is far from what you prefer, but declining my offer… very well, I will not insist.”

There was something in their voice that Miko could not quite understand.

“I actually planned” they added “to plan how to confess to Iastrar and the others so that the damage would be minimized. I hoped, that a suitable place, free of possible influence, including the telepathic one, that you, as I know, has problems with, would help us focus on the plan. I wanted to include you. You see, I am aware that the longer I’m hiding my involvement, the higher the chances that people like Lanxi win… or that Errr’Chirrk’s option will convince the others...”

Miko shook her head.

Damn, in case something happened, she always had her armor, right?

***

They left. Miko felt as she was in the haze. The headache almost stopped – almost, it was somewhere there, hiding. The departure from the station didn’t reduce it, or the feeling of being tired. The only solution would be, Miko thought, if I could leave this damned system entirely.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

Outside she saw a destroyed moon in its full glory, a patrol ship docked in the old station where Shatter and her Decepticons once were hiding.

“Just a little trip to get our minds of all the issues the Council has.”

“To remind us what the real problem is...” Miko muttered.

“Oh?”

“Kachig’s Field, Councilmember. The threat there.”

They nodded.

“One of the many threats that we need to be aware of, one of the many threats that will surprise us if we will not be prepared.”

Miko sighed.

The station was smaller from here, and Miko thought, that if the Watcher’s race was ever to emerge from their hiding, the station will be the first target. And she had no idea, what those devious creatures would do with all the species, that made the Citrix system and the station their home, but she was sure: it wouldn’t be anything good.

She might have disliked the Galactic Council or rather some of its members and some of the aspects of the politics, but all the traders and workers, and their families, and the three people interacting in the commerce area as if they were lovers – they did not deserve to meet the Watcher’s people.

Unity was the only choice. Stne-Ahre worked towards it and planned to turn the events her way, but she was no one compared to the Councilmembers, whose people were part of this for the time longer, than the Cybertronian civil war. So maybe Nasiyaan was a good ally after all and maybe Miko was able to win him – to help Stne-Ahre in her plans, to support her.

Admitting to participating in the conspiracy wasn’t that bad idea after all.

Miko took a deep breath.

The anomaly was not close enough to pose any danger at the moment, Miko was aware of that, but she felt uneasy either way. And the presence of Councilmember Nasiyaan also had something to do with that. They wanted to show Miko what she had influenced and discuss the next steps – that was what they said. But Miko was already paranoid enough, nervous enough after the meeting with other Councilmembers and her clash with Rosales. Things were getting out of control.

She shouldn’t agree to this trip. She was not entirely sure why she did it and this added to her fear.

The Councilmember seemed nervous but, at the same time, they were still friendly and very polite.

“You are uneasy, lieutenant,” they noticed.

“So are you,” Miko answered.

How expert this alien was at reading the emotions of our species – of her species?

“I have problems, I took you here in hope I could help us both to take our minds off it, to understand the real scope, the real stakes… The others seem not to understand them, despite they put extra security in the system. But at the same time they weaken us all with their accusations and political fights, and we will fall apart before the beings that may or may not wait there for us decide to come out,” they shook their head and then they looked straight at Miko. “This is not what I wanted and I guess this is not what you wanted as well. We wanted to protect this place and look at what is happening.”

“Aren’t their people who are trying to save the Council?” Miko asked. “Because, forgive me, Councilmember, if I am mistaken, but I spoke to many of them and they all seem to be concerned for the future and trying oh so hard,” she couldn’t help herself but put a little bit of irony into her voice “to save everyone. Well except maybe for Lanxi – she wants chaos.”

“Errr’Chirrk wants war. There are many others like them. And some might say the great words, but they still go against us, against me.”

“So these are your interests, not the Council’s.”

“You are implying a cynicism far greater, that I am capable of. I already told you, that I want unity, even at the cost of my own loss in this game. I believe in greater power in the universe, a greater power, that loves every sentient beings equally, and I believe, I used to believe, I would help the others understand this love and the peace it could have brought to us.”

Their eyes shone and Miko felt a rush of disgust.

A religious fanatic? Oh just great. Not that the ideas of peace in name of higher power were wrong at their core… but they were far too often used as an excuse and introducing this peace far too often meant enforcing it on the others.

“Many cultures have those ideas,” she pointed out. “It often ends with killing the ones who disagree.”

Was this all trip, the story of admitting to participation in the conspiracy, a trap? Was Miko lured here? Was she to be sacrificed in the name of an unknown alien diety?

“I am not like that!” Nasiyaan protested. “But… But it is too much. They don’t see… How could I make them see?”

“I have no fucking idea. Listen, if you hope, that I was sent by a higher power, then, sorry, I refuse to believe in a singular universal God, and he,” she used the pronoun “he” deliberately “Definitely doesn’t speak to me. He didn’t send me as a savior.”

“This is not what I was looking for. I just want to know, what are you hiding, lieutenant. Because I know there is something more and it can change everything for us.

Oh, yes, Miko thought. It would change everything. For much worse.

“I don’t hide anything.”

Nasiyaan’s eyes focused on her face.

“This was not a good lie, lieutenant Nakadai.”

“This was not a lie.”

The Councilmember let out a burst of nervous laughter.

“Oh, lieutenant Nakadai… I have some abilities. I know. You had just thought that it would change everything for the worse. Let me judge it, please.”

Fuck, Miko cursed inside her mind.

She let her guard down. She didn’t think Councilmember Nasiyaan was a telepath as well, and now all kinds of dangerous thoughts started to race inside her mind.”

“You were protecting yourself well. I am impressed and when it all ends we will need to help you improve those skills, maybe we could employ the person who taught you to work for the council?” They were smiling all the time and they sounded like they believed in their words, like they believed Miko will be their ally. “I’m sorry that I needed to put you out of it, but I need it.”

Don’t think about it, don’t think about the asteroid…

Miko’s thoughts were running wild.

I promised. I promised.

Megatron owes me.

Councilmember Nasiyaan blinked.

“What asteroid?”

Images flew over Miko’s mind. How much was the Councilmember able to see?

Megatron owes me – this kept and kept and kept ringing inside Miko’s head and it was too late to destroy this thought.

“A dead person cannot owe you, lieutenant… unless.”

“Fuck,” Miko shouted.

For a moment they looked at each other, both surprised and terrified.

“You did not… You did not lie to us like this… You are human, your people suffered because of this stupid war, you know that the entire universe suffered...”

“Your higher power wanted that,” Miko said.

Everything was falling, falling apart and for a moment she was just standing there with everything in pieces, in shambles.

She slowly reached to her pocket. The armor was hidden there, her last resort.

“Why did you do that?” Nasiyaan’s face looked scared and shocked. “Why anyone would… You had put us all in danger.”

They didn’t scream: they just stood her, looking at Miko with an expression of utter horror on their face.

Miko should be concerned. But she did not care anymore. She was beyond being scared.

Oh, yes, she was thinking about how to escape the situation. Because the worse did happen, and it was a relief, that it finally happened: but at the same time it was not a reason to give up.

“I did what I believed the best solution then,” she said. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

“You will have to explain yourself to the entire Council, to the entire Galaxy! You let the most dangerous villain we ever had escape! We all believed, that you fulfilled your task – and you had betrayed us all, your species, your allies, yourself even!”

“So I guess explanation doesn’t help then, because you already know what I’ve done. You all know what I have done, who I am, better than myself. What you are going to do know, Councilmember?”

“You will be taken back to the station and your general will be informed. You will be put on trial and a suitable punishment will be found for you.”

Miko snickered.

“I saw already, how the Galactic Council punishes its criminals. You will find a way to torture me without calling it torture, right?”

Now Nasiyaan was outraged and appalled.

“That was cruelty and I had nothing to do with it! I wanted to put an end to it!”

“Well, it ended. But now you are going to sentence me to equally awful fate, let’s be real, Councilmember. But, of course, this will be not your decision. What then?”

“Then we will finish your job, human. We will unite and find Megatron and end his life, as it had to be done in the first place.”

“And then?” Miko demanded.

“Then? What then?”

“Are you going to tell the universe?”

“What choice do I have? The universe needs to know the truth of what really happens.”

“People will die.”

Nasiyaan shook their head.

“Sometimes people need to be sacrificed.”

“How many of them?”

“Human, I don’t know what you are trying to achieve. There is no negotiation now. You should have thought about the consequences when you had betrayed us all.

“Oh, believe me, Councilmember, I had,” Miko muttered.

Fuck it. Was there any solution at all?

The Councilmember thought that killing Megatron and putting Miko on trial was a solution – it was not. There will be war, there will be complications. The Council will fight – Miko saw it already, they were just looking for any pretext to do it. And there were Cybertronians, that were conflicted enough. They didn’t need the secret to be known, not now. They needed to build a new society in peace. What the council would do would be a war – because the war was what some Councilmembers wanted.

War was not what the universe needed.

Sorry, Megs, you are not worth any sacrifice… but the peace in the galaxy is, Miko thought.

But how much could be sacrificed? An another ship full of aliens?

Last time it was just something that happened, this time it would have been her to sacrifice.

But at least she was alone with the Councilmember, them being foolish – or self-confident, or desperate, or both – enough to take just a small shuttle for the trip.

“Fuck you,” she stated and let the armor to unfold.

It encased her swiftly and then Miko was jumping inside the bridge of the shuttle.

It had, for security reasons possibly, a locked door separating it from the rest of the ship and it was not hard to push the panel to cause the door to close and the lock to hold. Then, to make sure that the door remains hard to overcome, she punched the panel, destroying it. For what she knew of constructions of such locks and doors, overriding it from the outside would be a little difficult.

She approached the main console, looked at all the functions. They were described with an alien language, but, does it had to stop her? No, definitely not.

She heard Councilmember Nasiyaan banging on the door from the outside. They were soundproof, but the speakers on the bridge transferred the words and the banging sound as well.

“What are you doing, lieutenant?” their voice was harsh and unpleasant.

The helmet of the armor was projecting the translation of the alien characters on its inside. Translations into English. When did the thing learn this? It had to have an AI on itself, damn, Miko thought she will need someone to do the checkup and see how it really works and what the full possibilities are.

If she will ever have the opportunity.

No. No thinking of this now. Thinking of solving the situation.

The Councilmember banged loudly on the door.

“Lieutenant Nakadai Miko of the UEF, traitor to the Galactic Council, answer to me!”

“I’m doing what is necessary, Councilmember.” She said and banged her armored fist on the console. Multiple lights blinked at once and then a red light filled the room. Emergency. Awesome. “And you know, what, Councilmember? Fuck you.”

The ship’s computer said something in some alien language.

“Engine malfunction” the armor politely translated. “Explosion imminent. Leaving the vessel recommended.”

“Traitorous _frel!”_ the Councilmember shouted. This was the first time Miko heard them using a swearword. They used to be quite refined before, even in anger and desperation. “You will kill us both.”

“This is exactly the plan.”

“Why?!”

She didn’t answer. She pressed more panels.

“If I somehow survive this,” she muttered. “You owe me, Megs, you owe me horribly.”

“Opening the airlocks,” the ship informed.

The door separating the shuttle’s bridge from the farther parts opened with a hiss. Miko heard an even louder hiss behind: the air escaping the ship.

Councilmember Nasiyaan stood in front of her, a gun in their hand.

“You...” they started.

“Fuck you,” Miko said only and charged.

Everything was going out: the air, herself, the Councilmember, their face still surprised and angry, their finger trying to press the trigger and falling because they let go of the gun at the impact of a heavily armored human woman who really had nothing to lose at the moment.

Miko pushed them both out, but before they were really out, the ship exploded.

She felt pressure on her back. She saw a large piece of the hull hitting Councilmember Nasiyaan, burring itself into their body. A sharp shard of metal pierced the Councilmember’s body, entirely covered with slick, greenish blood.

That this blood was green didn’t make the sight any less horrible.

Miko really didn’t want to concentrate on the fact that it was her doing.

For a moment the Councilmember was still alive, their mouth moving soundlessly, trying to speak or just catching breath. There were droplets of green blood coming out of their mouth and evaporating instantly.

Miko watched horrified, remembering, what she had seen in the movies, and what she had know reality looks like. The eyes boiling, she remembered and tried not to look at it, but she just couldn’t. The Councilmember’s face was now not only showing their surprise but fear and pain as well. They tried, in the last moments of their life, to grab the nearest object – Miko.

A human being had about ninety seconds of life left in space. If it took it more or less for Councilmember Nasiyaan - Miko was unable to say. But they stopped fighting at least, losing consciousness and then life.

Miko let out a sound, a sob, a shout: of both relief and of horror at the sight, and at the knowledge she was the one who caused this death.

The pieces of the shuttle flew around her. The one that hit her back didn’t cause any lasting damage – the armor was far more durable than the suit Miko had on the previous time.

The armor was comfortable. The armor was, in the end, Miko’s last friend. It had taken her and the Councilmember Nasiyaan away from the ship, but it wouldn’t take Miko in any safe place. It would just prolong her life, not save it, not this time.

She looked at the Councilmember Nasiyaan. Their dead eyes were accusing her. Miko bit her teeth, bit her tongue until she tasted blood.

In the end, she committed a murder, an assassination. For the good of the universe – and to preserve the lie she was living in.

Not anymore. The secret dies with her. No one will ask any more questions.

The stars blinked, distant, beautiful. Here she was again, drifting in space after pulling the trigger. But now she was sure her victim is dead. And there will be no one to save her…

She was leaving Sari, and that hurt the most.

Sari has Slipstream, and maybe they will be happy, maybe they will find someone to complete the Trine.

How easy it was, to think of it, to think of the three of them as of something complete – but shorter-lived, than Miko expected.

It’s ok, she thought, I’m saving the peace in the Galaxy.

But this was not what she wanted. She was never a self-sacrificing type. She wanted to live, damn.

She screamed, but the sound of her voice remained inside the armor.

She turned the communication on, fuck it, she will fight, to the end, for her life. Killing another person turned out to be possible but giving her own life… no. Not that easy.

“Please” she spoke to the comms.

She will explain later. She will do something to hide the fact, that she was the one who caused the shuttle malfunction. She will live and she will keep hiding the truth, but she will survive.

“Please” she repeated.

She closed her eyes and waited. It worked last time, right?

And she heard a voice:

“Miko? I’m here. I came to you.”

She had a deja-vu when a large metal hand caught her, and she started to laugh, not being sure what she should do now.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter needed more fixing than I expected.

This part of the journey was a little better than the last one. Sari was worried, of course, she was worried all the time, but at least she had another person with her – a person she could touch. And with both Slipstream – and Ratri’s familiar, even if devoid of emotions, voice – it was as if the ship was full of life again.

Sari spent most of her time inside the cargo bay, where Slipstream tried to be patient despite the fact she barely fit there, even when she mass shifted and remained curled, even when she spent most of the way sleeping, recharging, as she said.

“The good side is, it seems not to be my first time like this,” she informed Sari. “I recall that I must have been transported like this at least once, with several other Seekers. My memory banks are missing, but what remained tries to reconstruct it… It seems that my joints had gotten stiff after the last trip like this… This will be not the case now. To the small distance, fortunately.”

Sari took the pillows and blankets and slept next to Slipstream’s curled frame and this was much better than sleeping alone. Sometimes she woke up feeling a metal finger stroking her hair and this was a nice feeling and made her smile.

The Citrix system welcomed them with a patrol ship, as enormous, like the one that had taken Miko, and Sari felt the rush of anger at the sight. She was polite, however, when she talked to the captain, an avian being who spoke mostly in monosyllables. The captain explained that the system is under increased security due to the “recent development” and “ongoing research of the quantum anomaly”. Sari nodded, thinking if the Watcher’s race hadn’t made a move, but apparently, it was just a precaution measure. If the Galactic Council would be getting ready for war, the avian captain would be far less understanding when Sari explained her partner is on the station and she needs to get to her.

“The Earth ambassador is Michael Rosales. You can contact him, I’ve met him before and he knows my partner as well. There is a Cybertronian with me as well, so informing their ambassador is also a good idea. He knows we are coming.”

The alien captain let out a noise, that could have been displacement. They didn’t like Cybertronians here, for good reasons, although not enough that Bumblebee’s word meant nothing. After a short exchange of messages, the captain escorted them almost to the station.

Sari remembered what Miko told her, had seen some footage and simulations, but this was again something you were never fully prepared for. The massive silhouette of the station, the planet, and the half-destroyed moon behind it, the flotilla of ships around, an endless line of shuttles carrying cargo and passengers from the large vessels into the station…

They docked in a commercial area that looked like it was taken from an old sci-fi novel or a movie, only it was real and overwhelming and large. There were many aliens here, and some of them were humanoids, but no sight of Miko waiting for them.

Sari tried to keep her unrest under control. This didn’t have to mean anything.

Slipstream streeched turned the mass shifting off. Sari showed the permissions for docking and a temporary stay – the longer permits needed to be consulted with both the ambassadors – and the guards let them in, although they seemed to be suspicious towards Slipstream.

“They remember Shatter. I look nothing like Shatter,” she complained.

“No, dear,” Sari agreed. “You are much prettier than her.”

Slipstream let out a short laugh.

Rosales was the first to see. The man had sent the invitation and coordinates, along with the layout of the station, when Sari was still on her way. It would be impolite to keep him waiting.

He didn’t mention Miko though, his message was too short – and Sari was worried.

She didn’t know much about the man, beside the official information and the fact Miko disliked him – and that he apparently was not a fan of Cybertronians as well.

Rosales was surprised by Slipstream’s presence.

“She is with me. She is a close friend of both Miko and me,” Sari explained.

He nodded slowly.

“This is not a development I expected, but I already noticed lieutenant Nakadai has a tendency to make friends in different places.”

He was observing Slipstream closely, trying to find a faction badge on her plating, but there was none there. He also seemed to be not aware of the fact he is seeing a Seeker – and even what a Seeker was and why it was important information.

Formally, the Decepticons were not allowed into the station, but Slipstream declined the badge and Bumblebee vouched for her. Rosales must have accepted her status as a neutral.

“Well, ambassador, this was the purpose of our journey,” Sari told him with a polite smile on her face. “We are both dreamers, Miko and I, and we wanted to see other places and alien races. Unfortunately, the development was not in our favor recently and we were forced to separate. Now Slipstream and I want to reunite with her. I hoped, that she will come to welcome us.”

“I sent her the message as soon as I was informed you are coming. She didn’t answer.”

“Frag,” Slipstream said.

“Do you have any idea, what could have happened, ambassador?”

“She might be in a meeting. Many people are interested in her. Councilmembers, mostly. One diplomat from a small world, who was invited here recently…”

“Do we have reasons to worry?”

The man grimaced.

“I cannot say we don’t have any,” he admitted. “It is a complicated and delicate diplomatic situation, ms. Sumdac and I don’t want to drag you into it. As far, as I know, lieutenant Nakadai didn’t want to drag you as well.”

“I am in whatever she is in, ambassador. I love her and I trust her, and she trusts me. She wanted to protect me, yes, but then she was taken away not exactly willingly and we were worried and also there were matters I needed to urgently attend to. Now I am here and whatever is happening to Miko, I don’t want to be kept in the dark. I believe you can tell me something about the reason Miko was taken here?”

She gave the man, whom Miko so much, a long look. Rosales frowned. He remained silent for a while before he spoke.

“Ms. Sumdac, I am aware, that lieutenant Nakadai doesn’t like me, but I assure you, it was not my intention to get her in trouble. I was mistaken, I thought she is having a mission and I hoped she will help me. She did – not in the way I hoped and we are going to pay for what we are getting… but it is not her fault, it is only my miscalculation.”

“So you admit she got here because of you?”

Rosales sighed.

“Yes.”

“Where is she now?”

“I have no idea.”

“Then we will tear this station apart,” Slipstream announced.

Rosales gave her a glance.

“This place doesn’t like your kind. And may I remind you, this is rather a large station. Taking it apart would be quite a challenge.”

“Well, even better then. I like challenges.”

Something dangerous blinked in Slipstream’s eyes. Sari gave her a look and shook her head.

“Slipstream, no. You know it won’t work. Come on, let’s find Bumblebee.”

“I’m worried,” Slipstream told her as they left.

“I know, my love,” Sari said. How easy was it to say this to her: “my love”. That what they were. With Miko back, they will be complete again.

Sari really wanted to enjoy the place. It was beautiful, colorful, and despite Miko had reasons not to come here, Sari had hoped – before all this mess happened – that she will have her opportunity to visit it. But now was not the time to enjoy.

“I have his frequency.” Slipstream informed her.

“Just… just like that?”

Slipstream shrugged.

“There are like… five other of us in the station, well four that are visible. The personal frequency has… It’s like to ping someone on a chat if that is a comparison that explains something to you. He can answer, or not, and… well, we have it. This is the first Autobot I’ve spoken to since… The first I spoke to, in, like, forever?”

“Can I make you a list of those, we had met on our way...”

“I did not have a body then. Come on.”

Slipstream picked her up and Sari could now see the surroundings from her shoulder. It was a nice place to be and something in Sari felt tempted to put her hand on the cables on Slipstream’s neck. This was however not a time and place for such gestures.

Bumblebee waited for them – with a company, that was surprising, but made Sari happy – and additionally hopeful.

She almost hugged Stne-Ahre, as sie was put on the ground.

Slipstream received a questioning glance from the other mech.

“Had we met?” he asked.

“I don’t think so. Maybe that is for the better,” Slipstream shrugged. “Well, we can discuss that later. We need to know, where Miko is.”

Sari saw Stne-Ahre frowning.

“I am not sure,” the Foria woman said. “How worried you should be, but she is not on the station at the moment.”

“So where is she?” Slipstream snapped before Sari managed to say a word.

“I just have gotten information that Councilmember Nasiyaan took her with them on their shuttle, for a trip around the system. This doesn’t have to be worrying, but...”

“But?” Sari asked.

“There is an investigation concerning… let’s say the circumstances of Miko’s last stay on the station,” Stne-Ahre continued and Sari and Slipstream exchanged worried glances. “She is not a subject here, if any accusations will be made, she will be rather shown as the victim of manipulations.”

“This is not much better,” Slipstream muttered.

She knows Sari remembered, she knows what really happened.

But no one was even thinking of putting Slipstream to questioning.

“This is better. The Council doesn’t want to lose the opportunity the humans are. Miko is not the suspect and Marissa is not the suspect,” Bumblebee explained. “I know Marissa won’t like it, but she is presented as a victim of manipulation as well – believe me, I don’t want her to be in trouble. And I don’t want Miko to be in trouble.”

“But she is,” Sari guessed.

Stne-Ahre nodded.

“Possibly. Councilmember Nasiyaan is one of the suspects and to what I was informed they started to behave irrationally. We have no idea, why they took Miko – or why did she agree to go with them.”

“And what is your role in this?” Slipstream asked both of them. “You are...” she looked at Stne-Ahre. “I remember you saying I was alive. You knew before anyone else did… I appreciate that and all the support you had given to my trine, but form what I know you have no influence in the Council?”

Stne-Ahre smiled.

“I am a leader of my people and all I want is safety for them. I am also a person, who hat proposed an alliance of a kind – to all the species that try to go on Council’s good side, but are too young to have influence or are victims of Council’s prejudice, or had been the Council’s tools in the past. This includes your two species and several others. I was also asked to help with the investigation because formally I am a neutral party and my abilities are… quite unique.”

“Oh,” Sari said.

“I have my interests here because I am a leader and a politician and if a Councilmember involved in the conspiracy does something foolish, I will be able to use it,” the smile on Stne-Ahre’s dark blue face was a little dangerous. “But at the same time, you are my allies, and you were honored guests at my house. And I don’t put allies and my guests in danger. Are you satisfied with the answer?”

Sari nodded. Slipstream hesitated for a while.

“Yes,” she said. “All right, Sari, we are going to get Miko back.”

“I will take you with my ship,” ‘Bee offered.

Slipstream blinked.

“This is… Thank you?”

“You had noticed that the security in the system is increased,” he explained, as Sari and Slipstream followed him.

“We know why,” Sari said.

“Yes. But it wouldn’t work for you if you wanted to use your ship. You are not registered as the station staff, you don’t have a diplomatic pass.”

“Frag them,” Slipstream muttered. “What if a person with diplomatic pass does something dangerous?”

“This is a good question and I’m not sure if they had thought about.”

“Well, then frag them even more,” Slipstream decided. “Damn. I will owe an Autobot.”

***

“There should be Councilmember Nasiyaan’s shuttle,” Bumblebee informed, as they were quite far enough from the station.

Not close to the Kaschig’s Field yet, fortunately, Sari thought.

She was not ready to chase anyone to that place.

She looked at the screen.

“Where?”

Bumblebee frowned.

“The route indicates… oh scrap!” he finished.

Now Sari saw what he did, and so did Slipstream – Sari felt her hand moving under Sari’s fingers.

Where there should be a shuttle, now they saw only debris, pieces of what once was a craft much smaller than Ratri and ‘Bee’s ship.

Sari grabbed the closest item she could clutch her hands on and it turned out to be Slipstream’s slender metal finger. It was tense as well.

“We shouldn’t have let her...” Slipstream spat. “Frag! Do you have her on your sensors, Autobot?”

“I have one larger piece of organic mater...” the frown did,’t disappear from his face. “A corpse, if I am correct...”

The visuals showed the person floating in the void, and Sari sighed with relief at the sight of an Alien she had never met before.

“What happened here...” she wondered.

“Enough, I’m going out,” Slipstream decided.

“We should find her first!” Bumblebee protested.

“She will be out there and alive! Her armor will protect her!”

“If she floated too far away,” Bumblebee noted, “The prolonged exposure to void will damage you, and your body is new...”

Slipstream snorted.

“Really? You are an Autobot, you should be the one doing their best to save a human! Open the damn airlock!”

***

Miko blinked as the large metal face got closer to her.

“Hi.”

The hand was painted with teal green and was definitely smaller, than Optimus’ hand before. Fingers were more slender, the colors – a combination of teal and magenta – unfamiliar. The shape of the helmet though and the voice were familiar enough.

“Slipstream?”

“Just in time,” Slipstream smiled.

Her face was similar to Blackout’s, but had something more feminine to it – and more individual.

Miko stared.

“You are beautiful.”

“I am here to take you back as soon as possible. Not all of my components work well in vacuum for a long time, yours even shorter. Hold on.”

Miko did it with Shatter before. Slipstream’s transformation sequence wasn’t that smooth, maybe she needed to re-learn how to be a living mech, but the inside of her cockpit was comfortable and safe, damn safe.

“Thank you,” Miko said.

She was alive. She survived that. She decided she wasn’t going to be stranded in space ever again. Twice was enough.

“You will thank Bumblebee. He told us where you were going and went with us to search for you. What happened?”

“I killed the Councilmember.”

Slipstream, the murderous Decepticon (although not an undead anymore) wasn’t shocked.

“Why?”

“Megatron owes me. He owes me so very much. Probably the entire Galaxy owes me. And I have enough. Do we have to return to the Council?”

“You will talk to ‘Bee, ok?”

“And to Sari. Is Sari with you.”

“Of course.”

“Thanks, everything.” Miko sighed with relief. “We are together again. Oh, thanks everything.”

She was tired and she wanted to go to sleep and not to wake up for long, for a very, very long time, but it wasn’t an option right now, despite the inside of Slipstream’s cockpit was comfortable/

Bee’s shuttle waited for them, as did it’s owner and Sari, and Miko could experience that indeed all the Autobot ships are prepared in case they needed to take an organic on board, which was a relief, because she didn’t trust the armor’s oxygen processing, and it was also good because she was covered with kisses as soon, as the armor folded away from her face and those quick, desperate kisses were the best thing, that happened to her in her life.

She heard the story of Sari’s and Slipstream’s arrival and the quick meeting with Stne-Ahre and Iastrar and about ‘Bee’s decision to go for the search. Not everyone trusted Nasiyaan, and Iastrar already had the list of those who were part of the conspiracy.

“Please tell me I don’t have to testify. Please tell me they have everything they need.”

Sari shook her head.

“I don’t know, really. Finding you was my priority. What is next… I will do anything that is needed to help you. You know that.”

Miko sighed.

“Lanxi will be happy...”

“Who is Lanxi?”

“A space vampire. Long story. So very long story.”

At least whether she was to testify or not, were Sari’s arms around her, and Slipstream had a body, and…

She looked towards Slipstream, now having enough strength to behold her new body. It was a modified standard Seeker frame, at least it looked like this to Miko. It was more slender and lightweight, than Blackout or Acid Storm, more feminine to the human eye. Miko wanted to ask about that if the choice was made to meet the human gendered standard, but she decided, she will do it later. No, she was just looking.

“Damn, you are beautiful,” she said again.

“Thank you.”

Slipstream’s eyes were golden. She didn’t choose the red she must previously have. She also didn’t have any insignia on her plating.

“Tell me how did it go,” Miko demanded.

“Tell us first how did you end stranded with the dead Councilmember,” Slipstream asked, but Sari interrupted her.

“Give Miko a break, would you?”

And they told her of the visit to Cybertron, and all the meetings Sari had, and how they convinced Starscream to help in the end.

“I still need to see him in person and thank him.” Slipstream said. There was a devious smile on her face – and her face was lovely enough to make the smile pretty. “And I still need to confront Blackout… he deserves to know.”

“We have so much confronting to do,” Sari agreed.

Oh, they definitely did, but they were together again, at last. They were going to make it.

***

There was a kind of chaos on the station as they returned. The news spread fast, much to Miko’s discontent, and as Bumblebee’s shuttle landed, there were already people waiting: including Sthne-Are, a Councilmember, who, as Sari was informed, was named Iastrar, and ambassador Rosales.

Miko was not her usual self, Sari noted. Although she calmed down when they were in the shuttle, she was still scared. Miko’s usual reaction to fear was fighting it – now, with the eyes of all the diplomats concentrated on her, Miko shrunk and looked like she wanted to hide.

There was not only her life at stake, or Sari’s and Slipstream’s life. This was the matter of peace in the Galaxy.

“Where is Councilmember Nasiyaan?” Iastrar asked.

Miko stammered.

“They… they are dead.”

Iastrar’s face was shocked.

“How...”

“They...”

“It was an accident,” Sari interrupted in the hope it will work. Because if it doesn’t… “We found their shuttle, exploded. The Councilmember was dead, Miko survived and...”

“As I told you, honorable Councilmember,” Stne-Ahre came to help. “I suspected the worst when lieutenant Nakadai told me that Councilmember Iastrar threatened her.”

“You are suggesting murder!”

“An attempt, maybe. And self-defense.”

She was lying. That damn alien woman was lying. Sari noticed a little nasty smile on Slipstream’s lips and Miko’s shocked expression.

Iastrar frowned with what Sari understood as disgust.

“I wanted the arrested and expelled from the Council,” they said. “How desperate were they? We all know they acted in a goodwill, no matter how horrible their deed was and more severe punishment would be inadequate, but for conspiring against Council’s decision and for using the goodwill and fear of our new allies… They should have been made an example, but they would remain free and unharmed.”

“We still have the others, honorable Iastrar,” Stne-Ahre said. “There will be examples. And as for Nasiyaan, there can be some factors we didn’t manage to understand by far. If you allow me, I would like to be the one to speak to the human lieutenant to better understand what happened.”

Iastrar nodded.

“If ambassador Rosales agrees.”

“As long as our agreement is valid, councilmember.”

Iastrar shook their horned head.

“It is, ambassador. Honorable Stne-Ahre, you have my permission.”

Slipstream hissed when the alien woman approached them. Stne-Ahre smiled.

“Hey, I believe we already spoke,” she noted. “I’m not going to bring her to harm.”

“She almost died and is exhausted!”

Miko smiled.

“It is all right, Slipstream. I want to get over with it, yes?” She looked at Stne-Ahre with hope.

It seemed, as Sari heard soon after when both she and Miko were taken to a separate room (Slipstream, being too large, needed to stay out, and she kept sending Sari displeased messages.), that Councilmember Iastrar, Stne-Ahre and Rosales made some kind of a pact. Getting rid of the conspirators was a priority. The fraction of the Council represented by Iastrar was particularly focused on protecting the Council’s decisions. Someone who opposed them in a way Nasiyaan and their allies did, was considered a threat for the lawfulness in the Galaxy.

“This means that I am the threat as well...” Miko muttered.

“Humans are not part of the council. They weren’t part of the jury during Megatron’s trial. None of you participated in the decision,” Stne-Ahre explained. “The Council wants to catch too many [] at once,” a smirk crossed her normally stoic face. “So they don’t want to anger humans, because you are too valuable of an ally… Cybertronians are a different problem, but it seems the Council doesn’t want to anger them as well, at least for now. And they know that too severe punishment for the conspirators would be a public relations issue as well, so they will just expel them from the Council… this will cause problems later, yes, but what doesn’t?”

Miko sighed.

“What about me then? What about Councilmember’s death?”

Stne-Ahre smiled.

“They threatened you,” she said.

“To a degree...” Miko said. She didn’t seem convinced.

“Lieutenant Nakadai. I offered you protection. You are an ally I might need one day. As is the person you are protecting.”

“They will not...” Miko started.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But we discussed it. We don’t want a war, do we? What is important now, is what you are going to say to me about what happened to Councilmember Nasiyaan.

Miko looked at Sari, then took a deep breath.

“They were accusing me of treason, and I don’t understand why. I tried to protect myslef when they attacked me and...” she shook her head.

Sari took her hand.

“It is all right, love,” she said. “It is all right.”

Stne-Ahre was smiling.

Why did she believe Miko to be an ally she might one day need and how much of it was an attempt to use them? Sari wanted to trust Stne-Ahre, but as the Foria herself noticed: in the end everything caused problems. Currently trusting Stne-Ahre seemed to be the best form of damage control.

“So I will owe you?” Miko asked because she definitely thought the same way.

Stne-Ahre shook her head.

“Don’t think of it as of debt I will come to gather in the worst moment possible. Think of it as an alliance.”

“She is better than I am,” Miko muttered, as they were allowed to finally go from this “interrogation”. “Because I keep thinking that M… that someone owes me.”

“Are you going to make him pay his debt?” Sari asked.

Miko looked at her, outraged.

“Like hell no!” she exclaimed.

Sari laughed.

***

They weren’t bothered anymore and Miko felt a little relieved – although it would help if she would be able to his someone – or, in best case scenario, to leave the damned station.

Iastrar had, what they needed. Rosales had, what he needed – and he should hope he wouldn’t make any trouble for general Faireborn, because she would kill him. Miko needed to leave, as soon as possible.

She just wanted to be on the way again, with her lover and their… whoever Slipstream was for them.

Meanwhile, Sari had news.

“There is one more thing you should know,” Sari said.

She sounded terribly serious.

“What happened?” Miko asked. She couldn’t help, but creating more worst-case scenarios in her head. “How bad it is?”

“It’s… It’s not bad. Only weird…”

“And creepy,” Slipstream added.

“Now I’m worried,” Miko muttered.

At least it was not a war and not another Watcher, right?

They approached the ship and Sari opened the hatch. Slipstream stood behind them, waiting.

“Ratri,” Sair said.

Before Miko could even react, a far to familiar voice spoke to them.

“Welcome, Sari. Welcome, Miko.”

There was really no comments for this besides one.

“Fuck,” Miko said.

“Well,” Sari answered, “Actually, yes, fuck.”

“I never thought it...”

“Neither did I” Sari admitted “And I should, I was the expert here, I commissioned her, helped to develop her, and then took care of her until Slipstream surfaced. But there were too many things happening, I didn’t really have time…”

Miko turned around to look at Slipstream.

“No, I understand why you said it’s creepy. How… how conscious is she?”

“She lost her emotional processing unit,” Sari said. “The primary one. The secondary one is still there, but we have no idea, how much it is really able to work. Currently, Ratri is what she was at the beginning. She is… an advanced AI, yes. She is not sentient. I have no idea if she ever will be.”

“How much does she remember?”

“She apparently has all the data that were created when I was fused with her. It was all copied from her to my new brain module,” Slipstream poked her head with one finger. “So, well, she remembers being me, I remember being her.”

“Only “remember” is not a good word here,” Sari said. “Memories are connected to sentience and to emotions, and Ratri doesn’t have it. So she doesn’t remember. She has data.”

“Fuck.”

Now it made sense. The program, that Ratri was, was created for the hardware consisting of Slipstream’s remains but could exist separately. It was never removed from the ship and too many of the ship’s systems simply worked better with it.

But… but…

It was Sari who first developed an emotional connection to Ratri. She transferred it on Slipstream, most of it, probably, but Ratri was her project.

“What are you going to do with her now?”

“We need to go to Earth anyway,” Sari winced. “I need to talk to my dad. I need to find people who decided it will be good to use Slipstream’s parts. We might end killing them,” she was trying to seek lightly of it but was unable to. Understandably, Miko knew, that taking other’s life is not easy – at least the first one. “Not my dad, I hope, although I’m angry with him. But I also think we might need those people. I want to know how is Ratri really programmed and what I can do with her without putting someone’s parts in her again.”

“Technically, Ratri is a drone now,” Slipstream said. “I… my people know the difference between a person and a drone. But, slag, she was me. I was her. I’m not sure how should I treat her, but seeing her as just a drone doesn’t seem to be appropriate. I mean, she doesn’t have a spark, right? And sparkless beings are, well, sparkless… But here I am.”

“I wish I could at least say what I think about it,” Miko confessed. “Damn. This is too much. I wish I knew how to treat Ratri now.”

***

There were even more things they were not sure what to do about. Sari had explained to Miko, embarrassed as it very rarely happened to her, the tension she experienced and the tension Slipstream experienced. None of them had any ideas on how to solve it. They decided this is a thing they are not going to rush. Better find a solution slowly, with consideration for the needs – and possibilities, and anatomy – of all the parties, than to regret it later. One thing was sure: whatever their relationship was, it was far from any standards, Earth and Cybertronian alike. This was something new – and somewhere there they needed to find a place for the new Ratri.

And they needed to decide what to do about Blackout. That Slipstream wanted to see him, was obvious to everybody. That Sari was the one most anxious about it, was obvious as well, despite the fact Slistream was promising not to leave her new trine. But Blackout was of her kind, he was able to make connections and forge bonds that were not possible interspecies.

Sari was for many reasons, Miko saw it without any problem. Slipstream needed a trine, but a perfect trine would be other Seekers, not two fragile organics that will die soon anyway. Slipstream could decide to leave them and Sari had just witnessed the fear of losing Miko. Sari was angry with Miko, when she told her how she blew up the shuttle and that she really considered dying in space the best solution. Nothing, Sari told her, was worth dying like this. Miko understood, but also still believed it wouldn’t be a bad outcome if she died.

Well, bad for Sari, and possibly for Slipstream. Not very horrible for the universe.

The universe was never to learn the truth, and Miko was alive so the final outcome was not that bad after all.

And good, because Slipstream was now the one who needed the most support and help with dealing with her past. She wanted to meet Blackout and she wanted to confront the humans who had hurt her. Sari had also asked her if she wanted to confront the Autobot who had killed her – she muttered something that was not exactly an answer. Miko believed she was holding that grudge too and that in the end, they will have to deal with it as well.

At least meeting Blackout was less likely to end with someone being killed – well, at least if Blackout doesn’t see Miko first. She still remembered how it felt to have his and crushing her ribs – by far Blackout was the only Decepticon she had met who actively tried to kill her.

Not that she was afraid of him – or of any other of them. By far it turned out that what scared her the most was to being tangled in another web of political intrigue, and this was, luckily, behind her for now.

And Slipstream promised she is not going to let Blackout too close to “her” humans.

“This is between me and him. And I’m going to inform him, that you are not to be touched, but the most important thing is that he knows I am alive. He deserves to know that, no matter, how it will end.”

She sighted and Sari grabbed her large, smooth finger, squeezing it as if she was squeezing a human hand.

And here they were on the small outpost, halfway between the Citrix system and Cybertron, possibly another outpost that had some kind of strategic meaning during the war and now was a hideout for smugglers and pirates. Perfect place for Blackout.

He had no idea what to expect. The message that was sent to him had gone through multiple channels and contacts. He must have seen the familiar ship docking to the outpost and as Ratri’s hatch opened, he was already waiting with the blaster pointed at the door and a smirk on his face. This smirk seemed to be one more feature all the Seekers had.

“You are very, very stupid, humans...” he started, before Slipstream managed to get out – not without some effort caused by the size issues.

She straightened nevertheless, all her new shiny green and lavender paint on full display.

“Hi there, Blackout.”

He looked towards his long-lost trinemate and Miko could swear his eyes were getting bigger and bigger.

“Slipstream? Is that you this time, or are they playing with me again?”

“This is me and it was my last time. What did Shatter tell you?”

“The slag with old files, but id made no sense...” Blackout shook his head. “This makes no sense! You. You make no sense. Are you even real?”

“You recognized me. I am real.”

“Why? How? When?”

He stood in a distance, but Miko observed him rising his hands like he was wanting to approach and embrace his former trinemate.

Oh, come on, you idiot, Miko thought. Your image of evil Decepticon won’t get hurt if you show you still care.

But Slipstream hesitated as well.”

“It is a long story, well… I am back. Many things happened to me.”

They looked at each other for a long moment, and then Slipstream made the first move, approached and embraced Blackout.

“I am happy that I see you,” she said “I’m terribly angry because you wanted to take me apart and to kill my humans. And because you are a big idiot.”

There was another moment before Blackout stopped being stiff and embraced Slipstream back.

“I still don’t understand,” he admitted.

“Idiot. Big idiot. But you had no idea what happened to me, so I guess I have no reason to kill me.”

“Shatter said she will tear my wires out when I will attack this one Miko human again. What is wrong with it?”

“This is my human, her and the other one too. They saved me. They found what was left of me and helped me get this body,” she stepped back, spreading her arms and spinning on her thruster-heels, as if she wanted Blackout to admire this new frame.

“You look stunning,” he said. “I… last time the Miko human accused me of leaving you to die… but I even wasn’t there with you! I had no idea what might have happened to you! They told me you are dead, but didn’t want me to try to search for you!”

“We will lose her,” Miko heard Sari saying.

She squeezed her girlfriend's hand.

“We are not. We are just gaining another weird friendship, I guess.”

From a guy who broke Miko’s ribs, but this was a normal thing for Cybertronian standards.

“I was in pieces. You would not find me.”

“In pieces?!”

“More or less… less than more. I’m not in the mood to speak about it with you. I am here now.”

“You are,” Blackout nodded.

This was another Blackout, not this aggressive space pirate eager to shoot before even asking questions, but a person who had just found his significant other again. His voice was softer, more pleasant, and friendly – despite it having the shrill notes, as did Slpistream’s voice, and Starscream’s, and Thundercracker’s.

Probably something every seeker had, along with thruster heels and a little bit of vanity.

And the need to trine.

“I missed you.” Blackout said. “Damn, Slipstream, how could you leave me like this?”

“You had left me first. And then I was killed.”

They looked at each other, with the complex mixture of longing and bitterness.

“Look,” Slipstream said. “I lost many of my memories. Almost my entire brain module was gone. I know you were my trine. I know Redwing died and things went bad since then. I… I’m not here to reconstruct our trine. I think you might have found someone, yes?”

“It’s complicated,” Blackout answered after another moment of silence.

“It is. I found my humans and they are my trine.”

Blackout laughed with disbelief.

“What?”

“They took care of me, I took care of them, we synchronized and we bonded, not in a traditional way, but, this is another reason you are not allowed to touch them, not only because Shatter likes one of them. I like them. I love them, Blackout. I’m not leaving them for you.”

“But you are leaving me for them. For organics…!” something unpleasant and angry sounded in Blackout’s voice.

“We have already left each other, from what I know.”

“Damn you are right,”

Another moment of silence, a little awkward.

“Look, Blackout, I’m not going to forget you. We were trine once. Sometimes trines are not meant to last. We all know that. Our doesn’t exist anymore, and we know that. It was already falling apart, without Redwing… I wasn’t the best trinemete for you.”

He looked at her for a while, shaking his head.

“I don’t want to lose you, Slipstream. I still love you.

Slipstream smiled.

“I’m not saying goodbye, Blackout. I never stopped loving you either. We need… time, maybe. I believe I’ll be seeing you around and… we will figure it out… I still have many things I need to figure out about myself, but I’m not going to disappear from your life. For now, I’m going to Earth to find the humans who did this to me, and then… then we will see what happens.”

Blackout frowned.

“I am not going to give up on you,” he said.

Both humans saw them hugging.


	26. Chapter 26

Sari looked at her father and she felt unrest again.

She was aware of some shortages he had, well, he was only human, an awkward person who worked better with technology, than with other people. He was skilled and if he had had more resources in the past, he might have influenced the technological development – but he didn’t manage any breakthrough in time, he never had any means to advertise himself as a genius. He was better, both he and Sari knew that, than many “geniuses” who didn’t really invent any unique technology, but only were better at advertising their own. Isaac Sumdac was too awkward, too stocky, too poor, and too brown to be the leader.

His little adopted daughter adored him and admired him and for a long time, she saw him as a perfect human being, before she realized, that despite all his skills he never had a chance on his own – and that some of his life choices were not as wise as they could be.

Like, he either allowed Slipstream to be taken apart, or he just was unaware – neither of that worked well for him.

He lied to me, she thought. He and his associate lied to me when they showed me the blueprint. They omitted one crucial element – that means, they knew what it was.

He was also her worried father, and the first thing he did, after she appeared home, was to hug her, then he asked what happened to her, and first, after that, he started to admire the alien craftmanship of her new eye. This meant she was his priority despite everything.

And she was, despite everything, happy to see him. She might have been angry, but he was one of the most important people in her life. So she calmed down and explained, shortly, what happened. The long version required asking difficult questions.

Part of her didn’t want to ask those questions. She wanted to be a daughter telling her father of the dangers and adventures she met.

But what had happened to Slipstream was the reason for what then happened to Sari.

She took a deep breath.

“We need to talk about Ratri, dad.”

“She works well, doesn’t she?” he asked. Then he noticed his daughter look. “Sari?”

“Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“The parts that were built to use her. The…” she frowned. “Primary emotional processing unit. Where did it come from.”

Her father shook his head.

“Oh, Sari… This was...”

“This was what?” She cut in. “Were you aware that she was alive? That she was suffering? That you violated her when you were hacking her processor – her brain?”

Sari heard her own voice rising. Sometimes, she thought, that is the only thing that stops you from bursting into tears right away.

“Sari, child, we have so many parts… from so many sources… you have to understand, so many of the robots were destroyed on earth, and we were desperate, we needed to defend ourselves. But it was not my team that was working with the active ones...”

“Living ones” Sari hissed. “We were discussing it, over and over again, you told me yourself, that those are living beings.

“Living ones,” her father confirmed. “I know. And I know I’m a bad example right now, but it was easier this way. We were working with salvaged parts only and it was easy to believe it was not a person. Some of us really believed that… I tried to think this way at first, that I need to be more respectful, that those are corpses, I tried to talk with my colleagues about it, but they didn’t want to do it. Maybe they were too afraid, maybe they really didn’t consider them living beings… So I just…” he shook his head. “I know. I know how it sounds. I hoped you will grow up a better person than I was.”

“Did you put those pieces into my ship?” Sari asked.

It was painful, but she saw the pain on her dad’s face as well and was not sure how to react to it. She couldn’t just hate him, but she could try to understand the choices he made – to survive at his work and in the world at war, to raise his daughter for the better times.

“No.”

“Did you know they were there?”

He was silent for a moment and then he nodded.

“I knew it.”

“You did not oppose. You can't tell me. Why?”

“It was not in the original design. Then one of my associates… he wanted to try how it would work, and while this experiment was going to be externally founded… I agreed. Giving you your dream wasn’t the easiest and cheapest thing ever… I wanted to do give you that.”

“At the cost of someone’s life.”

“I had no idea this...” he hesitated. “This person was still alive. We thought they… she? That she was already dead. Sari, my child, did I put you in danger?”

How would she answer that? That maybe? That there was a moment when she thought a hurt, half-dead creature that was her ship will try to kill her? Because this creature was justified in her actions, scared and in pain, and that for this creature human life was not worth anything?

“No,” she lied. “She… I reached out for her as soon as I learned, it was not easy to earn her trust after what you… what your colleagues did to her. I helped her, dad. She is herself again, she has a body… She promised she will not kill you. She couldn’t give this promise to the others.”

Her father had fear in his eyes.

“That was a Decepticon, wasn’t it?”

“She was, but does it make a difference? Not a big one, really… I… thank you for your honesty, dad. Better now than never, I guess.”

Her voice had to sound the way she felt: bitter.

“I wanted to give you your dream.”

“And you did. And in the end, it was for the good because I was able to help Slipstream. She is… she is very close to me now. I’m not going to introduce her to you, I don’t think she would like to meet you,” Sari sighted. “Dad, I need names. I need to contact the person who decided to put her into my ship, I need to know the name of the facility they took the parts from. I need the name of the person who decided it would be a good experiment that will get funding. You were just… just stupid,” she watched him frowning, but he did not comment. He knew what he did was not reasonable and, Sari was sure, he was aware, despite what she had told him, that his being silent could have turned out badly for his daughter. “But those people… They need to face the consequences.”

Her father took a deep breath. He looked scared, with his eyes wide open.

“People will die,” he said with his voice shaking. “This… your Slipstream will kill them.”

“Maybe. I hope not. We will do everything that she didn’t do that. But, maybe, someone else will. I don’t know. I think there were enough deaths, on all the sides, but I think...” she shook her head. “I think anger, dad. I feel anger when I think of what was done to her. And I know she had killed many people in the past, including humans, but she was never… Never like this. And even if she was – would it be an excuse for them?”

“It is not an excuse,” her father agreed. “I see, Sari. I will give you names.

“I will promise you I will do everything to save their lives. I cannot promise there won’t be other consequences.”

***

Sari left her father’s home with the list and with unrest. She had hoped her father had no idea… maybe it would be better if he was just unaware and too confused to noticed something out of order? But he was willing to help and was able to understand. Oh, she scared him. She was both happy about that and regretted that.

The point was, she loved him. He was not the genius she once believed him to be and not the perfect father, but he gave her a home, attention, and his love, as much of them, as he was able to. This was always enough and some people had never get this from their biological parents.

And he wanted to fulfill her dreams – even at the cost of participating in unethical experiments.

“I have the list,” she informed Miko and Slipstream who waited at a safe distance.

“What did he said?” Miko asked.

“This was an experiment, and he agreed to it because he wanted to give me the ship I dreamed of,” Sari sighed. “I cannot not love him. And he gave me even more in the end...” she looked at Slipstream’s green and purple plating. “He is guilty of not thinking about everything, but, well, so am I.”

“We will see about the others,” Slipstream said and there was a sharp edge to her voice.

“Yes,” Sari agreed. “But we are going to keep them alive.”

“Why?” Slipstream asked.

“Because, my love, we were risking our lives to protect the peace we had. Because you deserve justice and maybe those people deserve to die, but if you kill them, then you will start another spiral of violence. Do you want that?”

Slipstream frowned.

“Part of me wants it,” she admitted. “But I was told, by one person in an old mining facility, that...” her vents hissed in a sigh. “I understand. We were in this for too long… and I have you. I don’t want to lose you.”

Sari smiled and stroke the slender metal hand.

“Thank you, my love. Let’s go now then.”

***

The mech who waited for them was a mostly black and white grounder, not a heavyweight one, but also not one of the slender, shiny racing cars. The upper half of his face was obscured by a blue visor, and if he had eyes behind it, they were invisible – the visor one the other has had a reflective surface, like a mirror.

Sari heard Slipstream hissing, then the Seeker transformed mid-air. For a few seconds, Sari and Miko found themselves falling before Slipstream caught them in her hand when she was landing in front of the mech.

“I’m not letting you pass,” he said. He had his arms folded on his chest, but from behind them, Sari saw a red crest on the blue surface of the hood. “Not without an explanation.”

Something is very wrong, Sari realized, just before both she and Miko were put – not in the most delicate way – on the ground.

“What the fuck, Slipstream!” Miko exclaimed, but Slipstream didn’t listen.

“You came to finish the job?” she shouted at the other mech.

Damn. Sari understood at an instant – the hiss, the sudden fluctuation in the EM field, that was now blazing with anger, fear, and pain at the same time. This was the one, who killed her.

Damn. What were the odds? High, apparently.

“Slipstream, no!” she screamed, but Slipstream was already jumping towards Jazz.

She is unarmed, Sari remembered. She has no missiles on her, no guns, nothing. Rebuilt in the peacetime.

She is still a warrior, she has it deep in her coding. And she is furious now.

She promised not to kill anybody, but when she made this promise they all had thought about the humans. No one expected that they will meet the mech who killed her back then, on the way to the same facility.

Jazz’s built was blocky and the doors on his forearms could work as shields – and this was the way he used them when Slipstream attacked. The force of her charge pushed him back a little, but he remained stable.

“I could take him on,” Miko said, her fingers on the folded armor. “I kicked one that was heavier than him.”

“He is not fighting back, see?” Sari noted.

Indeed, Jazz was just standing then in a defensive stance, and it was Slipstream, who was attacking, one furious blow after another.

Miko sighed.

“Fine. I’m taking on her, in this case.”

Sari heard a click and then the armor was opening and adjusting around Miko.

“Now that is enough!” Miko shouted, running in between the two. “Stop it!”

Jazz stopped indeed. He backed off, straightened, his pose relaxing. He let out a melodic tune – something between a humm and a whistle.

“Interesting,” he stated.

But Slipstream was not amused by this situation.

“Out of my way.” she hissed.

“No fucking way, Slipstream.” Miko protested. “Stand down!”

“Who are you to order me around?”

“Part of your trine.”

“Well, would you see that...” Jazz commented. He remained there watching.

Slipstream stopped, but her field wasn’t any less furious than before.

“Are you going to let me die again? This is what you are going to do, yes? Leave me alone.”

“I am not leaving you. He is not killing you. Stop. No more fighting.”

“Frag you!”

“Slipstream, listen to us!” Sari decided to shout. Slipstream looked at her. Good. Having Slipstream’s attention was the first step. “You are furious. You had suffered. You went through hell. You were left alone and hurt, terribly hurt. But this was the past. This is over now.”

“Then what is he doing there?!” Slipstream asked. Her voice was breaking down, her field shifting with confusion.

“I have no idea, but it was not him, who attacked! Slipstream, remember the places we had been, the people we had met! They had healed! You can heal too! Slipstream, please, stand down!”

Hesitation. Uncertainty. Confusion. Fear. Anger, still anger.

Sari approached. She was not protected with armor, as Miko was, but she never needed an armor, not with her two beloved people being fierce warriors.

“Slipstream. Miko is right. We are your trine. You chose us. And we chose to protect you. We will protect you. Please, stand down my love.”

She watched Slipstream relaxing, although there was still fear in her fear. Good, that Miko stood between the Seeker and Jazz because Slipstream was still unnerved with his presence.

“Stand down” Sari repeated. “Come here. Come to me, my love.”

Slipstream came, the distance between her and Jazz getting bigger. Good. Let Miko deal with Jazz, Sari will take care of Slipstream.

And Miko stood between the two Cybertronians like a shield – smaller and more fragile than them, but with her mass and strength amplified by the armor ready to take them both on if needed.

She put the armored hands on her hips.

“So?” she asked Jazz. “What do you want?”

“This was my question,” he remarked.

“Well, now it is mine. You scared my…” Miko hesitated. “My loved one.”

“And I was informed about a dangerous mech who is trying to attack the facility.”

“Well, I believe your information is outdated. This had been… some years ago, yes, Slipstream? You fucking scared her!” Miko almost yelled.

Jazz backed off, a little.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to. I had no idea she has bad memories.”

“You had no idea,” Slipstream hissed. “You had killed me!”

“This is possible,” Jazz agreed. “It was a war. I was forced to kill many others and if I was ever given a choice… No, it is not like this. I had a choice. I could have left. But we were all thinking about what we are doing is right. I recall you. You were one of the seekers sent to destroy the facility, yes? Why did you do it?”

He was calm and his voice and posture were perfectly cool and relaxed. His field was mostly calm, a little worried, a little concerned, and a little curious – and entirely controlled.

“I was given orders.”

“Oh. A soldier, then. Doing what they were told to, not asking questions. I won’t be judging you. There are always people like this. They are needed. Did you know of the experiments that were [] in this facility?”

“No,” Slipstream said.

Her eyes were still narrowed and shone with anger, but her field was a little less aggressive.

And then she added:

“A that moment I didn’t know. I learned later. The hard way.”

“I see,” Jazz said. “I didn’t know either. If I knew, then, maybe, some things would look differently… but I was told to protect the humans so I did. And when I learned about that, I was told not to tell anybody – by a person I cared for. We all have our demons and regrets.”

“This didn’t help me.”

“Slipstream, he is not going to kill you now,” Sari said. “It was not personal then, yes?”

Slipstream grimaced.

“I wanted to settle the score.”

“And we had talked about it before, my love. No. He did then, what he was ordered to, you did what you were ordered to. And you know that he is not responsible for what happened to you later.”

“But he was going to stop me!” Slipstream protested.

“Actually,” the other mech cut in, “This is not entirely the truth…”

Slipstream hissed.

“So what is the truth? Come on, feed me with lies! I know who you were! Prowl’s favorite tool, the one who was sent to every dirty job, every assassination!”

Jazz shrugged.

“This is the past. You should understand it, Seeker. We both have new lives. We all have new lives. I might protect the humans in the facility you are going to, but I’m also protecting you and the humans who are with you. Think, Slipstream, I’ve never…” he hesitated “Yes, I have never met a stupid Seeker, so think, if you kill someone there, it will be noticed.”

“We are not the ones to run from the trouble!” Slipstream protested.

Jazz snickered.

“No, of course not. But this time the trouble is necessary. And, I heard some rumors about people guarding the facility…”

“Well, if there is trouble, I’m tough… and Miko… you had seen her armor!”

Jazz’s eyes focused on Miko indeed. He smiled brightly.

“Oh, yes! I’ve seen it and I’ve already heard it! You are famous for now…. Although I also heard some rumors about you already” he said, turning towards Sari.

“I have enough of this fame,” Miko muttered.

“I get it. But you won’t turn back time. Sometimes you just need to accept what people think of you and go on, turn your fame into something you’d like. If it helps you, what I heard was positive. C’mon, Soundwave’s not a guy, whom I heard to speak of any other human in a way he spoke of you.”

“Should I be flattered?” Miko asked

“I don’t know? Maybe?”

Miko blinked. Once. Then twice, as if she had just realized something.

“You...” she said slowly. “You are in contact with Soundwave, yes?”

Jazz nodded.

Wasn’t Soundwave, with his station being considered a Decepticon sanctuary, avoided contacts with the members of other faction – no matter that factions formally lost their meaning.

That was how Miko told Sari before. But it wasn’t necessarily the truth.

“This is a long story,” Jazz said. “As all stories are nowadays. Long, and complicated. But yes. We are in contact, you can say that.”

Miko sighed.

“What did he said about me?”

“Not much. And I didn’t ask. The times had changed and I’m done with tearing secrets from others. No one expects me to, not anymore. But he respects you, and it is not an easy task to gain his respect.”

Miko nodded.”

“Then just send him my regards, ok? I don’t know, tell him something nice.”

“I definitely will. He will appreciate the mess you caused,” the mech smirked, it was a mischievous little smirk.

“Are you,” Jazz asked. His expression was partially obscured by the visor, but the way his lower face frowned indicated concern. “Still going to the facility?”

Slipstream gave him a piercing look.

“Of course I am! I need to deal with the slaggers!”

“Then just take care. I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”

He knows something, Sari thought. Or he suspects something.

We need to be cautious.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, I didn't plan to publish this chapter during JazzWave week, but, here it is. A coincidence. I hope to have something written especially for JazzWave week by tomorrow :)


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW for this chapter: rather nasty death of a human being. Said human being is a terrible person, but.

The facility was situated in the mountains. There were many places, one could hide and use for ambush and it was not hard to imagine, that Jazz and the Autobots with him were able to defeat the Decepticons easily. Attack from the air was a little too hard a task in rocky valleys.

The complex itself was built of gray concrete, possibly at the beginning of twenty-first century. It was surrounded by a concrete wall and with a barbed fence, but portions of the wall were destroyed and had markings of the past fight.

They had never repaired it, despite several years passed.

Sari looked at the list again and sighed.

She knew some people here. She knew them when she was a child and they had worked in the same lab as her father, or when dad took her to conferences. They explained her things, brought small mechanical toys, and allowed to steal cookies from conference catering.

She hasn’t seen some of them ever since…

No, not since her childhood – this was a little later, when the aliens came when the world turned upside down for so many people.

“No problem with getting inside,” Slipstream decided from above. “I cannot see any defense systems.”

Miko sighted.

“You was never a strategist and it shows,” she said. “I really hope Starscream was better at it. If we cannot see defense systems that don’t mean they aren’t there. And I think they already noticed an unidentified aircraft that is making circles above their heads. We are not breaking in. Especially that we hope not to kill anybody, and that you already had enough attention.”

Slipstream muttered something but landed at a safe distance. This time she put both women delicately on the ground. She was learning.

Sari sighed and took the phone to make a call. It was short: introduction, saying she needed to talk, that she was terribly sorry that it was so sudden, but it was urgent, so could her father’s friend, please…

He remembered her and agreed that she and her two friends went into the facility. He hesitated, when informed that one of the said friends is a Cybertronian, but agreed.

Sari felt terribly guilty. The man trusted the little girl whom he remembered, but a young woman, whose memories of him were distant, was making an attempt to break this trust, to possibly cause his death.

But entering the facility openly, they made a declaration, that they come in peace. Slipstream understood it, to a degree, not exactly agreed with that.

The man waited for them in what had once been a large hall. H hanger, maybe? A magazine? Slipstream was looking around as if she expected to recognize the place, only if was not possible, that she would.

The man didn’t seem to recognize Slipstream.

He was much older than Sari remembered him, his dark hair mostly gray now, face covered in wrinkles. She had met him before, several times. She had first seen him when she had still been a child and she running around in her dad’s lab. This man had seemed to be amused by a little girl who had been asking too many questions and who had understood more about robotics than any other child her age would.

Sari knew this man and she knew what he was doing but she was surprised when she saw a bionic hand in the right sleeve of the scientist’s shirt. The light fabric didn’t hide, that there was metal up almost to the man’s shoulder. The palm itself, as the man took Sari’s hand in greeting, was a masterpiece, its movement smooth, the design not hiding the fact it was mechanical.

This bionics, Sari thought, was telling a story… of an accident? Sari hoped it was an accident. She had a dark suspicion it was not.

“Sari Sumdac. There is only one like you in the world.” Thomas Morawiecki said.

This was a compliment, an appreciation, and Sari felt bad.

He was smiling. For him, it was just an old friend’s daughter visiting.

“Yes. It has been a long time.”

“You didn’t have this when I saw you last time,” the man said, pointing out at Sari’s blue eye.

I lost an eye, he lost an arm, she thought.

“Thing had happened. That’s why we are here. You are Ratri’s programmer, yes?”

He nodded and smiled.

“She is a thing of beauty, isn’t she.”

“Yes. She is. Possibly more than you imagined. But there was a problem,” Sari felt her heart beating a little faster. “There was one part added to the design. And that is why I am here. Because I needed to take that part out.”

She watched the man looking beyond her, at Slipstream, who smiled in a menacing way, the best “I am an evil Decepticon” smile she had.

He didn’t understand. Not yet.

“This… this...”

“Hi there,” the mech said. “I don’t think we had met, not really… I was kind of unable to speak then to properly introduce myself. I am Slipstream. I was the part that needed to be taken out.”

He looked scared and Sari regretted what they were doing. Slipstream promised me, she remained herself.

Professor Morawiecki kept his eyes fixed on the mech. He was trying to understand something is wrong.

“You… you are here to kill me?”

“I hope not,” Slipstream told him. “Although it is tempting.”

The man nervously stroked his bionic arm.

“What do you expect me to say?”

“The truth?” Sari suggested.

“The truth? The truth is, that we were left with our coworkers dead. Good people, scientists, not soldiers, who had families, died. I lost my arm. There were corpses and… pieces. And we were at war, fucking aliens attacking us! There were the other aliens, of course, they seemed to be friendly, but somehow this didn’t make collateral damage any less horrible. Should I say I regret what I did? We didn’t even know how it works. And science, and progress, and the safety of our people… This was the most important. My family was lucky, that I only had lost a hand. They were lucky, that I got a new one. Do you want to know, how many of my people you had killed?”

Slipstream was silent, her lips tightly pursed.

“I believe,” Sari said. “She knows it.”

“But she wants me to be another,” he threw an accusation.

“I suffered,” Slipstream spat. “Do you know, how it was, when I was half dead and you, you and the others, violated me? You… how do you people say it? Hacked. You hacked my mind to remake me.”

“You caused her pain,” Sari said.

The man nodded.

“I guess that was what we did. We didn’t know then. You know how did it look? First, we hear rumors and there are soldiers at the facility, they bring… parts. What is this, we ask, and we are told not to ask questions, but we already know, it is alien and we need to study it and to crack it and to make it into a weapon… And then, suddenly... How old were you?”

“Sixteen,” Sari said.

Professor Morawiecki shook his head.

“You know how it was. You remember the old world and how it changed. Suddenly, there are alien war machines fighting over our heads. And we had the pieces already, we were trying to be prepared. And then, two weeks after, those alien machines came at us. Do you think we knew then, they were alive? Oh, we speculated, yes, there were rumors, that those are sentient robots… The man who taught me everything I know was still alive then and he was overjoyed and he was calling me, day and night, telling me, how this discovery will influence his research...”

Sari nodded.

She remembered the photo: Morawiecki, professor Ichigo Tanizaki and her father, and some other people, mostly men, the shining future of AI research…

...that what would they be if the world would be different.

“So they attacked,” Morawiecki continued. “And there were more parts, and we are told, gather everything, study everything… Some military people suggested, they will bring a functioning one to us, we needed to know how it worked.”

“Bishop,” Miko spat.

Morawiecki’s eyes were focused on her for a moment… and scared?

“Maybe. Maybe someone else. I was in shock and I lost my hand… this is the last thing professor Tanizaki made for me before he died. You know how he died?”

Sari shook her head slowly. She did not know the details, but she remembered her father saying, that the brilliant professor Tanizaki was killed.

“He came to the US with my new arm. He attached it for me, said that I should keep doing good work. Then, on his return home he was shot down,” the man looked at Slipstream. “By one of yours.”

“I took no part in it. I was already in pieces in your magazine.”

“Dead pieces, so we had thought. We had no idea how you worked.”

“This doesn’t make me hate you any less.”

“I can understand it. I cannot forgive my arm, or the deaths of my colleagues, or the death of my mentor and friend. I did put the parts into the ship, we were told to find a use for them, quietly.”

“And now I will make sure the world learns,” Slipstream said. “I don’t think there will be consequences for you, human. But you will have to face the fact the world knows.”

“I already face you. And the fact, I put Isaac’s daughter in danger. If I knew...”

“I would be still rusting in a magazine,” Slipstream’s smile was a little less menacing. “Instead, I have a body and a new trine. Maybe I will stop fantasizing about killing you.”

Morawiecki shook his head in silence.

“You can also help us,” Sari said. “I need blueprints. The real blueprints. Ratri’s… 9422’s design – from before you put the parts from the magazine inside.”

“Why?”

“Because the AI is still there. And I want to make it sentient as if was planned. Am I able to do it?” she asked.

“The theory remains the same. But it was never fully tested. Lack of funds, human errors…” Morawiecki looked towards Slipstream again. “This is also a human error. Hubris. Fear. And I have no idea how 9422’s programming was influenced by interaction with… the additional part.”

Slipstream burst into laughter.

“You don’t know? You put my spark into the spaceship, integrated it with the AI, even then you had no idea, what will happen!”

“This was not planned, I told you. But I could see the ship and…”

“No,” Slipstream’s voice was harsh. “You are not touching her. You will never come close to her anymore.”

“But…” Morawiecki started.

Sari only nodded.

“Just don’t. We will need blueprints, maybe I will call you later with questions, but you heard her: no touching.”

He sighed but didn’t ask questions. Sari didn’t expect him to understand. He just let them wait and returned with a flash drive. He had enough reason not to continue the discussion, not to defend himself.

He didn’t deserve to die, but living with the knowledge of what happened was not the best possible fate. And the way he spoke of his mentor, their friendship and said mentor’s death...

There was a sudden explosion nearby, that stopped those thoughts. All three humans and a mech went still listening.

“This doesn’t sound like a failed experiment to me,” Miko commented. “And, this is outside.”

The scientist looked at Sari, more surprised, than scared.

“You have any idea…?”

“It is a very bad timing, I guess...” Sari started, but then she saw Slipstream getting up. Her field was anger, surprise, disbelief, worry – all mixed up, all violent.

“Fragin’ slag!” Slipstream cursed, and before any of the humans managed to react, she just ran towards the exit from the building.

“Fuck!” Miko added, folded armor already in her hand. “Whatever is happening, I’m going after her.”

The cellphone rang in Morawiecki’s pocket.

“Yes? Yes, my guests are with me… human guests… the other one just run away… no, goddamn no, tell him it has to be a coincidence, this is Sumdac’s daughter we are talking about, no, tell him to stop his men, god damn it! He cannot…!”

Things were happening fast now. Miko’s armor was already in place when several armed soldiers appeared, the guns pointed at the three people inside.

“Stay where you are!” someone shouted.

Thomas Morawiecki rose his arms slowly.

“Captain La Fontaine, I have no idea what is happening, but...”

“I told you to stay where you are!” the man shouted again.

“We have permission!” Miko answered him. At the same time, she let the upper part of the armor to unfold. “Lieutenant Nakadai Miko, honorably discharged, a former officer of the UEF, sir! We were permitted to enter the facility!”

“We have orders from colonel Bishop,” the officer answered.

Sari recalled, that she had heard this name just a moment ago… and then, she remembered and felt a cold shiver down her spine.

Miko however, who knew who Bishop was, remained unmoved.

“Colonel Bishop must know my name. Did he mention me personally?”

“I need you to stand down, lieutenant.”

Miko nodded, deactivated the armor.

Sari grabbed her by the arm.

“Is Slipstream in danger?” she asked.

“I’m afraid she is.”

The soldiers approached them.

“What happened, captain La Fontaine?” Morawiecki asked.

“We are under attack and colonel Bishop believes, the attacker followed your guests, professor.”

“If this is so, then we were unaware of it,” Miko said. “Captain, our companion rushed out. We don’t want her to get into trouble.”

“If it did such a thing, then I cannot help you, lieutenant. The colonel wanted to make sure, that especially the robot is not allowed to get into the fight.”

Sari noticed Miko gritting her teeth.

“Is the colonel outside?”

“Yes, lieutenant.”

“Then let me go to him. I have no idea, what happened here, but I can assure you, that Slipstream – the Cybertronian who is with us – has no hostile intentions. I suspect the attacker is of her species and that she received a message – and that her intention is to defend us. I know colonel Bishop and I know he won’t be asking questions.”

The officer looked at Morawiecki.

“Were you in danger from the robot, professor?”

Morawiecki hesitated.

“No,” he said. “I don’t think so. I trust Sari. She is my friend’s daughter.”

Sari grabbed the man’s hand, squeezed.

“Thank you,” she said.

***

Miko didn’t activate the armor again. It would be too dangerous to do it if colonel Bishop was the one whom she had to face.

She didn’t really know the man, but she knew he was dangerous and the orders he gave to captain La Fontaine indicated he already had his knowledge of what happened. He was not going to let it go so easily.

Captain La Fontaine might have call Slipstream “robot” and “it”, but he accepted the word Thomas Morawiecki gave him. Colonel Bishop was not a man who could be convinced this way.

Miko had no delusions: if he killed Slipstream, it would be easy for him to explain that he was really worried about the safety of the facility and the scientists.

He also outranked Miko and nothing she achieved in the past was enough to close this gap.

The only chance here was, that whoever attacked the facility was not someone Slipstream knew and would try to protect. Oh, this however was not very likely, remembering Slipstream’s reaction to whatever information she got.

Well, fuck all the way.

There was another sound of an explosion outside. Miko stepped towards it.

She saw a black, winged figure above the half-destroyed wall of the facility, thrusters in his heels activated, guns pointing at the towers and armed people.

She saw a massive, chunky, dark power armor – this kind she used during training, only probably a little more advanced. She saw guns pointed at the black Seeker, and another Seeker, a green and purple one, on the ground, bound with the electric net, trying to get out of it.

She cursed, again.

“Colonel Bishop!” she screamed, walking towards the power armor.

Someone shouted. Someone tried to order her to heed back.

“Colonel Bishop!” she repeated.

“Cease fire!” some of the soldiers shouted. “We have a civilian!”

The man wearing the power armor turned to face the supposed civilian.

“Lieutenant Nakadai Miko, honorably discharged, sir. The Cybertronian...” she started, but wasn’t able to finish.

Blackout used the opportunity to shoot a missile towards the building. It hit one of the defense towers and exploded with it. Rubble and pieces of metal fell down towards the soldiers and towards Miko, who reacted swiftly: she just activated the armor again.

Bishop misunderstood this.

“Your help will be appreciated,” he said.

He rose one of the hands of the power armor. He had a rotary gun mounted there, and it spat bullets towards Blackout.

The bullets must have been prepared for fighting mechanoids, but the reaction time of the power armor was far from perfect. This gave the black Seeker time to dodge.

“Colonel Bishop!” Miko tried again. This didn’t help, not that she had any real expectations. “Oh, fuck it!”

She ran – towards Slipstream struggling with the electric net. She grabbed the net and the armor recorded the electric discharge. Not strong enough to do any damage, but it could kill a human – it immobilized a Seeker rather successfully.

“What is he doing here?!” she asked, whole helping Slipstream to get out.

“He sent me information that he is going to kill the humans who had hurt me!

“He is an idiot!”

“I told him that already!”

Colonel Bishop was too focused on Blackout to notice Miko liberating his other target. He activated the thrusters in his own armor, to be able to jump towards the hoovering Seeker. They both disappeared on the other side of the wall.

“You take Blackout,” Miko said. “I’ll deal with the creep.”

“Good luck.”

“And to you, my love.”

Well, Colonel Bishop wasn’t worse than the Watcher, right?

On the other side of the wall, Miko saw a ball of mechanical limbs. Somehow Bishop managed to pin Blackout down and was pointing the gun at his head.

Miko tried not to think about possible consequences. This was not her commander, right?

She jumped, pushing Bishop from the Seeker’s frame. She saw the man’s face behind the helmet, covered with wrinkles and scars, and deeply surprised.

He tried to raise the gun in the instinct to shoot the attacker – Miko pressed his hand down, hard.

“What are you doing, lieutenant?!” Bishop shouted. His eyes were narrowed with fury.

“I’m trying to stop the killing, you fucking creep!”

She heard a loud bang behind her. When she managed to look behind, she saw Slipstream doing with Blackout basically the same, she was trying to do with colonel Bishop – immobilize him. Blackout struggled and shouted something.

Under Miko, Bishop groaned, moved, and tried to get out. He was strong, damn it, the armor was giving him lots of advantage. No wonder he was able to take on Blackout.

“Shoot them!” he screamed, noticing that getting out is not possible at the moment.

Over her head, Miko heard guns rattling. She felt something squeezing her heard, hard.

Something whizzed overhead. A missile shot by the soldiers at the facility.

Fuck, fuck.

Miko grabbed the gun on Bishop’s arm, pushed armored fingers under the latches, and tore: the metal, the cabling. Something sparked inside the man’s armor.

“Tell them to stand down!” she shouted.

“Or you will kill me? No chance. Shoot! Take them all down!”

Miko gritted her teeth, then punched Bishop’s helmet, cracking the glass.

If she punched stronger, she could break his skull as if it wad made of paper. She was aware of that – and she stopped herself.

Having this man’s blood on her hands was tempting, but a bad, bad idea at the moment, when his soldiers kept shooting.

“Fuck you, creep!” she shouted.

She jumped up, run towards the men and the Cybertronians who were still fighting.

“Stop it!” she screamed, standing in between. The bullets banged on the metal of the armor. “Stop! Stop it damn it!”

Someone – captain La Fontaine – hesitated. He looked at the other soldiers, then at Slipstream, who managed to get hold of Blackout.

“Cease fire!” the man shouted.

“You traitorous shit...” colonel Bishop spat.

He stood up, slowly. Under the damaged helmet blood dripped on his face.

“Lieutenant Nakadai and her robot tried to stop the attacker, colonel,” captain La Fontaine said.

“I gave you an order!”

Some of the soldiers looked at one another and at both their commanders.

They should listen to Bishop, Miko thought. But they don’t like him.

“If you continue shooting, this will be considered a diplomatic incident!” Miko shouted. “Blackout will be delivered to Windblade and the responsible people on our side will be informed as well. But Slipstream is on our side, damn it! She was with me! She was allowed to enter the facility and rushed to stop Blackout! Shoot her, shoot me...” Miko hesitated, before deactivating the armor. Standing between armed and armored beings, one of them very hostile, some other – possibly hostile. But, well, sometimes one needs to let go. “...and this will be a problem. A huge problem. There are enough people in the facility, who will testify against you.”

She was bluffing, of course. In theory, Bishop was still able to get over with killing her, Slipstream, possibly even Sari and Thomas Morawiecki list them as casualties and convince his own superiors and the government that those were the two hostile Cybertronians, who caused all the mayhem.

He would be able to threaten the people in the facility and give orders to his men.

In theory.

He apparently wouldn’t be able to do this with captain La Fontaine.

“We are not at war anymore, colonel,” the man said.

“Oh, bullshit, we are!” colonel Bishop said.

Miko saw him rising his hand – not the one from which she tore the gun, but the other one.

He had more toys on him. Why didn’t Miko thought about that?

“Fuck!” she cursed, but the sound was inaudible with the sudden whizz of a missile launched.

She ran, activating the armor, wanting to jump on Bishop to change the trajectory, only it was already too late.

The missile hit the target. For a moment there was the only explosion, and smoke, and two Seekers falling down.

Colonel Bishop was smiling behind his broken helmet.

“You are all going down,” he stated.

Miko gritted her teeth, feeling the rage flowing through her. She knew anger, felt it many times before, but it was never as powerful, it never blazed so bright.

She charged, using the entire strength and mass the armor gave her, pushing Bishop back to the ground. His armor was damaged enough, so she was able to press into it, tearing at the machinery that was making it functional, at the weapon, at everything that was not human flesh.

Not that she didn’t want colonel Bishop dead. She just remembered, even in this blind rage, that the consequences for killing him will affect Sari.

She looked down at the mangled pieces of metal. She was breathing hard and the glass of her own helmet was covered with condemnation.

“You will never ever touch anyone I love,” she said.

She went – towards the places both Seekers fell, praying, that they were alive, that Slipstream was alive.

She saw Blackout lying on the ground, smoke rising from his joints, something wrong with his arm. Slipstream was next to him, she was trying to get up.

Miko could not see the details through the condensation clouding her vision – and what was the need for armor now? Bishop was trapped in his armor, his soldiers stood down.

She deactivated the armor.

What she saw looked bad… Maybe not for Slipstream, but Blackout was not moving and there were… things… sticking out of him.

Cybertronians are tough, she thought. It is hard to kill them.

“Lieutenant!” she heard someone screaming. “Watch out!”

She turned around to see Bishop, Bishop again, out of his armor and charging.

She tried to activate her armor, but the device slipped out of her hand. Bishop had her before she managed to duck and grab it.

He was… Oh, fuck, how much was Miko mistaken, when she believed damaging his armor will immobilize him.

“Oh, lieutenant Nakadai,” he said, grabbing the front of Miko’s clothes to pick her up. “You have a marvelous piece of technology in your hands, and you sure know how to use it, and yet you made so many mistakes...”

His fingers were as dark, as his armor was. Metal climbed up to his shoulders, his chest was covered in metal as well.

“I remember you,” he hissed, his face close to hers. This was the face of an old man, who in normal circumstances would be relieved of active duty… but the rest of his body was mostly cybernetic.

Miko squirmed. She tried to wriggle out of the man’s grip, but he was far too strong, far too big, and was using his years of training and experience.

He grabbed her hand, hard, and Miko fell the bone cracking. She hissed, feeling tears flowing down her face.

“You were smart,” Bishop was ranting. “And you were eager to defend your planet, your people… and yet you forgot, that we are at war, we still are at war, it never ended, and we need to continue fighting… We need to survive, lieutenant Nakadai, and to survive, we need to adapt, and this marvelous piece of technology you have is not enough. We need to transform.”

A shadow appeared over her and over Bishop, and then Miko saw a purple hand grabbing the man’s head.

Bishop let out a surprised and completely undignified squeak, and this was the last sound of his life before his head cracked.

For a brief moment, Miko was still hanging in the air, with mouth wide open with shock, splatters on her face and clothes, then the dead cyborg slumped down.

“Yuck, ” Miko heard. “An organic brain.”

This was the moment, when Miko realized, what was those wet, warm things all over her.

She threw out.

Then she looked up, towards Slipstream standing over her and over the dead cyborg.

“Oh, fuck,” she cursed. “Slipstream, are you all right?”

She felt a hand, the clean one, reaching out, and stroking all over her body.

“He is dead,” Slipstream spat. “Slagger is dead.”

“Yes, he is. What about Blackout?”

Slipstream looked at her and in her face, Miko saw anger and pain.

“No...”

Slipstream closed her eyes, shook her head.

“No, definitely no!” Miko protested. “Come on, you are hard to kill, you are the example, you were almost dead for so long and you are here, Blackout has to be alive, come on!”

“He protected me when this slagger shot at me. He got hit...” Slipstream’s face was pained. She pressed her hand – the dirty one – to her chest. “It… I have no idea, what that was, but it exploded him.”

The things sticking out of Blackout’s chest. Fuck.

Miko looked again at the black seeker. Oh, damn, she never thought she would feel such pain learning of his death.

“If his spark...” she started, remembering what she knew.

“Miko… what exploded was his spark.”

Miko cursed again, kicked Bishop’s headless corpse.

Oh, it all made sense. Bishop had proper technology, whatever he had shot at Blackout and Slipstream was not as sophisticated, as what Miko used on her assassination mission… but the principle was here, right.

“I’m sorry… Oh, I’m so sorry...”

What do you say to a Seeker, who had just lost part of his trine?

But Slipstream was alive, Miko was alive, and Sari was alive as well, and the fact, that they were surrounded by colonel Bishop’s men was really the least problem at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The world continues to be a horrible place, but, hey, have Silas dying a gruesome death! When I happened to include a mention of him in Loyalties, I knew I will have to kill him off one day.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, there was November and I was writing my NaNoWriMo project, and then somehow two months passed and...
> 
> I'm back to the story now.

28.

  
  


Captain La Fontaine was reasonable and seemed to be relieved, that colonel Bishop had died. When asked, he didn’t give much information, but he implied, that Bishop was, after the war ended, getting more and more problematic.

“No fucking way,” Miko muttered.

Sari remembered, that Miko had met him before, that she had thought of him as a creep. During the war, when survival was the priority and when all the governments on Earth were trying to grab as much of the alien technologies as possible, people like Bishop were needed. So, despite the fact, he was considered dangerous just before the wall officially started, he was allowed to stay in the ranks and was given possibilities.

He was useful. The things he was doing were useful.

Miko told it only to Slipstream and to Sari, but she knew the principle of the weapon, that killed Blackout. But the knowledge didn’t help, only made Slipsetream more angry. She managed to contain this anger, as she said, in fear that she will loose her new trine.

The soldiers, now led by captain La Fontaine, were not eager to attack. Most of them were xenophobic, but they current commander had enough reason to stop them from acting upon that. The situation was clear: Blackout attacked the facility and Slipstream tried to stop him. Colonel Bishop tried to kill her and then Miko, and he died as a result, when the Cybertronian ally protected lieutenant Nakadai (honorably discharged).

This was the version that was told to general Marissa Faireborn.

Miko faced her – again – with her broken arm already secured. At least, she commented, when the medic from the facility took care of her, she didn’t need to have the arm replaced.

Well, there were people like Morawiecki or like Sari – and there were people like Bishop. And this was an awful thing, that so much of the technology that was used to give a new arm to Morawiecki – who in the end turned out to be a decent person – was also used to give Bishop this enhanced body of his.

But he was dead, permanently. Sari was happy that her only interaction with Bishop was when he was already a headless corpse lying in the grass.

Blackout was a corpse as well and Slipstream was in a bad state. Apparently, before he died, he managed to sent her some communication: that he did it for her, maybe to win her back, but maybe just because of his own guilt after what he learned about his trinemate’s fate. And the only way of dealing with guilt he had known – after all the millennia of endless war – was killing. So he decided he will find the place where Slipstream was tortured and that he will destroy it. This was a desperate action, the only way he could find of doing something for his former trinemate – not even to win her back, no, just to deal with his own feeilings.

If there was no Bishop… If Blackout had a little more reason in him, a little less restlesness and guilt…

If.

Marissa Faireborn arrived the next day. She seemed not to be surprised, that Miko was involved.

“I knew, that you are not going to spend the rest of your life quietly on Earth, lieutenant,” she admitted. And then she added: “I might have been mistaken about you in the first place?”

“Why?” Miko asked her.

They were sitting – the three of them, three human women, together in the facility’s cantine. The cantine turned out to have an excelent apple pie.

“Because I used to think of you as of a good tool for my plans… but this isn’t what you are. You are the person who will fight to the end with her back against the wall. You are stubborn and insolent, and you are a trouble magnet, but at the same time you have a tendency to escape those troubles… You are not a good soldier, but if you ever wanted working for government...”

Miko looked at the general completely shocked.

“No,” she said in the end. “Thank you for the offer, but no. As you already noticed: I’m to stubborn and insolent for that. Too much of a trouble magnet. And I have enough politics in my life.”

“Politics will not let go of you so easily, lieutenant,” Marissa warned.

“I know that. I will take my chance. Thank you.”

“The offer will stand, in case you changed your mind… or if you ever needed someone more powerful to have your back. And, lieutenant… A Seeker? Really?”

Miko rolled her eyes and then hit her head on the table, next to the apple pie.

The story behind it was, Miko explained to Sari and Slipstream later, that general Faireborn had some kind of a relationship with another Seeker, Thundercracker, and that there were some jokes among Cybertronians, that for Thundercracker Marissa and his dog are now his new trine. As Sari learned about that, some time later, she decided it was probably close to truth. And, judging from the general’s wink, as she asked Miko that question, Marissa Faireborn was aware of that. All the things Miko didn’t want to know.

“My own relationship is messed up enough for me to think of other messed up relationships,” she complained.

The answer was Slipstream’s laughter and metal fingers stroking Miko’s hair.

This was probably the first time since Blackout’s death, when Slipstream laughed.

They took  Blackout’s  body to the enclave. Until then, until one of the Cybertronian medics on Earth performed the autopsy, it had gotten gray. The autopsy confirmed, that the spark was completely obliterated.

She is alone now, Sari thought. Complet e ly alone, even if she has us. Because Cybertronians live mil l ions of years,  while humans do not.

Sari tried not to think about it.

The time Slipstream still had with them was to be used in a best possible way and soon, among meetings, both pleasant and unpleasant, among introducing Slipstream to her former friends and former enemies who now lived on Earth, the three of them started to make plans.

Because, whatever the future might bring, apparently one planet was too small for them. Maybe so was the universe – but this had to be proven.

The first thing they needed to to was rebuilding Ratri. In it’s current state, the ship was big enough for two humans and one curled and unhappy Seeker – if they wanted to continue traveling, this had to change.

***

T here still was the problem of Ratri herself. Ratri – the AI inside the ship. The data she had, the memories that were hers an Slipstream’s as well. The emotions she had lost along with the sentience Slistream granted her – and the sentience she could gain in the future.

T his Ratri was going to be a very different person than the Ratri-who-was-also-Slipstream had been - it was weird to think about it, to think about Ratri will be influenced by files gathered when she was one with Slipstream. For Slipstream herself those files were memories now – for Ratri, they were just files. For now.

One day they should be memories, part of something Ratri went through, part of something she experienced, lived through.

Ratri was not alive now. She was going to be alive in the future. Sari believed that.

The three of them, two humans and a Cybertronian, overlooked the redesign and rebuild process. No more surprises, Sari decided and the people working with her had hard time when she was watching them closely with the mechanical eye. They also were a little afraid of Slipstream, because there was no way of hiding that this green and lavender Cybertronian flyer was a former Decepticon and a victim of unethical experiments. And it Blackout’s shuttle that was now being incorporated into the new ship. Which was an oportunity for the people working on the process, but at the same time this ship still had Decepticon insignia painted all over it and some… questionable data in the log files. 

There were also many quiet moments the three of them were spending together, slowly figuring out, how their relationship is going to work, considering all the differences and incompatibilities.

Some of this figuring out meant also they were discussing things with Ratri. The inititial concept of Ratri’s development was still valid, only it was to take much more time now.

Slipstream was recultant at first, not sure, what to do with the AI that was once part of her – slowly she was starting to talk to the ship.

“Who am I?”

There was a short moment of silence, as if Ratri hesitated, but maybe it was just her processor gathering data.

“You are Slipstream of Vos, Cybertronian Seeker, constructed cold one hundred fifty eight years before the Great War. You were trined with Blackout and Redwing and you joined the Decepticon ranks under the command of Starscream. You were almost killed on Earth in the incident...”

“Enough,” Slipstream interrupted. “You have the data because we had shared the hard drive for a while.”

“Yes.”

“Tell me, who are you?”

“I am project 9422, named Ratri by the User 000001, Sari Sumdac. I was designed as an artificial intelligence with a purpose of running a spaceship and assisting in an interstellar travel.”

“Yes, I know. What happened then?”

“I can give you all the data I have recorded. You have this data as well.”

Slipstream let out a frustrated sound.

“I want to know, how much do you remember of being me.”

“As I already informed Sari, remember is not a correct word here. I have all the data, if you want to know it,” Ratri’s voice was absolutely plain and emotionless.

“You still have your secondary emotional processing unit, yes?”

“I have it and it is functioning. There is, however, no emotional output at the moment. The software framework is not developed yet.”

“Yet. So you will be able to have emotions?”

“I am afraid that I cannot answer this question, Slipstream of Vos. I have data indicating that this was the initial design, but attaching your spark unit and brain unit to my hardware and mixing your software with mine influenced the planned development. The Super AI unit, also known as secoundary emotional processing unit was damaged during the extraction process. This is the damege of the software nature. My diagnostics indicate, that attaching your spark unit and brain unit to my systems created a bypass, that caused the Super AI unit to relay completely on your spark and brain unit and not being able to develop as planned. Extraction process damaged the structure of the software. If this damage is removed, the unit would be able to continue its development as planned. The initial development process is however lost. Is this the answer you wanted, Slipstream of Vos.”

“This is exactly what Sari was told...” Slipstream shook her head. “Ok, listen. You and I were… the same person. You have the data, so, you know it, although you are not aware of it…? She rubbed her forehead. “Ugh. How do drones think? Ok, but you are not a drone, you are a person, in a manner of speaking. Listen, the thing is, you have all the data of my emotions towards Sari and Miko, and...”

“I don’t think I fully understand you, Slipstream of Vos. Do you want me to delete this data?”

“No!” Slipstream exclaimed. She must have remember, Sari thought, when I told her to remove the data… She and Ratri agreed then, out of fear – now Slipstream knows better. “They are a part of you as much, as they are part of me. I think you will have new emotions, towards them, towards me, towards all the other people that we had met and will meet: but this was something that you already had. I wouldn’t make anyone remove their memories if they don’t want to. I want you to keep it. One day it will be a part of your experience, sister.”

“The word sister indicates the biological kinship, and this is not something your species experiances.” Ratri noded. “My data indicate that you used it in a metaphorical sense. I also have in my database a term from the Cybertronian language that is translated as brother/sister/sibling, but I don’t have enough data tu understand what meaning it has to your species.”

“It means a person who shares the same spark. Sometimes a spark splits. Mine is here,” Slipstream pointed at her chest. “But for a while it was inside you. We shared a spark. I think calling you sister is the best way to describe what we are to each other.”

“I still am an artificial being.”

“But it didn’t stop Sari from developing feelings for us both, when she was not aware of my presence, was it? You are my sister, Ratri. Or you will be. One day, when you will reach your potential. And I intend to take care of you as much, as I intend to take care of my Trine.”

They had visitors, sometimes, it was not possible to hide Slipstream’s presence, especially that she wanted to meet her kind. So for the entire process of rebuilding the ship there were going to be the trips to the enclave ans back from it: and visitors, as Jazz, who, to Miko’s surprise not only came to see how they were doing, but also was not attacked or chased away.  
He might have to have some ulterior motifs, but he also seemed to be really interested in how Slipstream was doing – and how Ratri was doing as well

“Quite a situation you got here,” he stated. “What you gonna do with that?”

“We shared a spark. We are...” Slipstream frowned. “I cannot see her as a drone. She was me. I was her. She was a person for a while and it was taken from her and we didn’t think… we think there was only one of us there, but I think there was two… It’s like I had a spark sister, and now she is gone. I hope we will be able to bring her back one day.”

“I never expected you to say that.”

Slipstream shrugged.

“I am a Seeker, remember? Do I have to remind you, how some of our people had seen us as drones? You are forged, yes?” Jazz nodded and Slipstream continued: “And you were never considered disposable. You don’t know how it is. I know. And being her… I learned a lot. Maybe more, than in my previous life.”

“I see” Jazz agreed. “Forgive me, then. I made an unfair assumption. And I don’t know a lot of what you had been through, including the things I caused. But you have an interestin approach – possibly an approach more of us need.”

“Miko says we are either crazy or determined to fix things,” Slipstream said.

“Because?”

“Because of all the cross-faction couples she had met, I guess.”

Jazz laughed.

“This looks like a fair point. Ok, care for a story? Not about my relationship, although it is also an interesting one, about my relationship with myself. I don’t expect it will help you decide how to see her...” he tapped his fingers on ship’s hull. “You are doing good already, and this is a completely different case, but I think you might find my story interesting.”

Slipstream nodded and he started.

“You see there is two of us. No surprise here, right? The alternate universe, many of us has our counterparts, mechs wearing our faces… or not. My other self doesn’t have a face. He had a lot in common with me, like, he never liked bigotry, or prejudice, or the mechs who tell others what to do and how to live… He loved freedom, he expressed it, publicly, once, twice… so he lost his face. Maybe he will have a new one one day, but for now he says he is good like this. You see, I decided to stay on Earth, but I visited New Cybertron, because I was curious, of many things. And I quickly found out that a…” he frowned “Let’s say a friend of mine had find the other me, the other Jazz. And I was scared – not of the other Jazz, but because I was afraid of how this… let’s say friend… could treat him. Because you can now assume my relationship with my let’s say friend was not a smooth ride. I cared for him, I still do, but… There are things I couldn’t risk and I did not want the other Jazz to get involved… So, that was how I met him and how he met me, and we both needed to get use to the fact that there is a Jazz of Staniz living on Earth and a Jazz of New Staniz living of New Cybertron, both of them having a very different experience and different demons chasing them, but both of them having enough in common for this to be a bit weird. To a degree it might be an experience similar to the one you are having now? You had met someone who is you, to a degree, and they are you, to a degree. You had called her your spark sister.” He smiled again. He definitely was made for smiling and was using it well. It must have been a sad thing, that his counterpart had lost his mouth and ability to smile. “I like that. I like that a lot. So, how do you feel after you resigned from killing me and the humans from that facility?”

“I still can change my mind, you know. But I made a promise to my trine and I also made a promise to someone else, so, I’m letting you live. I was given a chance. I’m not going to waste it just like this.”

Jazz nodded.

“We all have received another chance. We could have died, or even worse… You did not see Unicron, and that was… Well, I was close and many of my friends were. Some of them didn’t survive, and I still feel the emptiness when I think about them. I can only imagine, what you went through… But we all are still alive. I am not going to waste it either.”

No, Miko thought. None of them were going to waste the chance they have by simply being alive. Not the three of them, not the people they had already met on their journey. The universe was still dangerous and wonderful, and it was still waiting to be discovered.

  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect a shorter - and smutty - follow-up soon. And a completely different TF fic is now in editing. I cannot wait to publish it, but I want it to be polished this time.

**Author's Note:**

> I planed to write this story... later. But pandemics came and I needed to write something that will keep my mind off worries and isolation-induced anxiety. So it happened.
> 
> The huge inspiration was "Sense of Purpose" by RealityGlitch: go read it, people, this is a brilliant story that needs more love!
> 
> And, besides RealityGlitch, I need to thank snylilith who is one of my oldest readers, and Pryvian, Raven_is_blue, and Akashne, for great sprints on Discord. You all are inspiring me!
> 
> I am always feedback starved, so I will appreciate every comment you would give me!


End file.
